


Soulmates

by tbmd1066



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Original Character(s), These are all the tags that would immediately turn me off but I swear to God it's good, Umbria AU, also they don't bone I'm sorry, although there is a little angst in the middle, and the OC is only in three of the chapters and only because she was needed, and there are so many characters in this damn show anyways what's one more, but it does have a happy ending I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 05:24:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1539275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbmd1066/pseuds/tbmd1066
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The stronger that your light becomes, the more freedom that I can have <br/>We’ll confirm the strength that is being drawn out at this place <br/>The more freedom that you are granted, the more my shadow stands out” -Kimi ga Hikari de aru Tame ni</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Demon Children and Latin Paperwork

It all started one day at basketball practice when Hyuga tripped over a small child at practice.

“Hey! Watch where- huh? What are you doing here?”

The boy was quite small, probably about four or five years old, with light hair, and dark eyes, which despite being so very dark reminded Kagami rather a lot of Kuroko. The kid babbled out a sentence in English. Everyone looked towards Kagami.

“Oh, um. He said he got lost.” Kagami said. Kuroko crossed over and knelt in front of the kid.

“ _Hello, I’m Kuroko. What is your name?_ ” he asked in awkward English.

“ _Jason_.”

“ _Hello, Jason_.”

“ _Hi._ ”

Kuroko looked up at Kagami. “Well, that’s about all the English I can use in this situation. Can you ask him whether there’s an adult he’s supposed to be with? And if so, where they are?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Kagami turned to the kid and asked the first question. The boy nodded.

“Mrs. Nefastus.”

Kuroko looked surprised for a second, then frowned. “Nefastus Transumo?”

The boy nodded.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be here soon enough. Do you want to play some basketball?”

Kagami translated for them, and Jason did want to play basketball, so he, Kagami and Kuroko began messing around, while Hyuga complained they weren’t getting any real work done.

“Stop messing around!” he shouted.

“Hyuga, this is adorable, be quiet.” Koganei said.

“Seriously, tell me someone is filming this!”

Mitobe nodded, holding up his phone.

“ _Jason_!” the boys jumped, and looked down from the bleachers to see a concerned looking woman. “ _Jason_!”

Jason did not stop trying to grab the ball from Kagami, but Kuroko looked up.

“Hello, Transumo-san.”

“Hi, Kuroko.”

 _He’s all tense, kinda like when he’s around the Generation of Miracles._ Kagami thought.

“Nice steal, Jason!” Koga shouted. Kagami looked around to see Jason throwing the ball in the general direction of the hoop. _How did he do that?! It must have been when I was looking at Kuroko._

“Yeah! You were pretty close, kid!” Transumo said. Jason ran over to climb on her back.

“What are you doing here?” Kuroko asked.

“Well, I was on my way to drop off Jason, so I thought I’d swing by to see you, since it’s nearby.” she said, smiling awkwardly.

“Where are you dropping him off to?”

She hesitated. “...Dampier.”

“That’s in Australia!”

“When did you get so good at geography?”

“That’s not near here at all!” Kuroko seemed excited. But, it was generally kind of hard to tell with Kuroko.

“Well, it’s on the way!” she blew her hair out of her eyes. “And I had to tell you your request was denied.”

“I’m putting in again.” Kuroko replied immediately. “Can you bring me the papers tomorrow?”

“I have the papers with me.”

Kuroko looked surprised. “You do?”

“I filled out my part already and everything.”

Kuroko smiled faintly. “Thank you.” Kagami wondered what was so incredibly exciting about paperwork, and also what was going on. He decided to introduce himself.

“Uh, hi.” _Smooth, Kagami._

Transumo looked over and smiled. “You must be Kagami Taiga. It’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands, which was slightly difficult as Jason was still sitting on Transumo’s shoulders. “Kuroko’s told me a lot about you.”

Kagami blinked in surprise. “He has?” He looked to Kuroko, who, unsurprisingly, revealed nothing.

“Yes, you two play basketball together, right?” Kagami nodded, and Transumo turned her attention back to Kuroko. “I’ll come pick the paperwork up tomorrow, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.”

Transumo had to do quite a bit of shuffling to get to her bag, which was slowly slipping down her arm as Jason wriggled around on her back, but she managed to get out a black folder and handed it to Kuroko.

“Thank you.” he said.

“I’d better get going.” Transumo smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

“It was nice meeting you, Kagami.” Transumo smiled.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, nice meeting you, too.” _Who are you??_

* * *

 

Later, Kuroko and Kagami were in the library. It wasn’t a normal place for them to hang out, or at least it hadn’t been until Kagami’s grades had started slipping again.

“Kagami-kun, please pay attention to what you’re doing.”

“I am!”

“Your grades seem to disagree.”

“My grades are fine!”

“Go back to your book.”

“What are you doing?”

“English homework.”

“That doesn’t look like English.” Kagami said, craning his neck to stare at Kuroko’s notebook. “It’s not! That’s the paperwork Nefastus-san gave you!” Kagami grabbed at the paper and squinted at it. “What language is this? It’s not English, and it’s definitely not Japanese!”

“Can I have it back, please?”

“No.”

“Kagami-kun!” Kuroko complained.

“I have a lot of questions about what happened today, and you’re being really weird about it all!”

Kuroko looked away. “What questions?”

“Who was that woman earlier today? How do you know her? What is this paperwork for? And what language is it in? Who is Jason?”

“That is a lot of questions.” Kuroko had moved on to a different page of paperwork.

“What do you mean ‘That’s a lot of questions’?! Aren’t you going to answer them?!”

“Kagami-kun, we’ll get kicked out of the library if you keep shouting.” Kagami looked around to see the librarian glaring at them from behind one of the bookshelves.

“Well, are you going to answer them?” Kagami whispered in frustration.

“I know Transumo through her work. The paperwork is in Latin. Jason is an Australian.”

“Latin? Who speaks Latin anymore?”

“ _Dico Latine._ ”

“You speak Latin?”

“Yes.” The amount of sarcasm in Kuroko’s voice was nearly undetectable, but it was present.

“Where’d you learn that?”

Kuroko was quiet for a moment. He looked uneasy. “Transumo’s workplace, mostly.”

“Which is?” Kagami was growing uneasy, mostly due to the fact that Kuroko was. He disliked seeing his friend’s calm outer shell under stress, and hated that he was the one stressing it, but every answer Kuroko gave seemed to spark more questions in him, and he was suddenly worried about Kuroko in a way he never had been before.

When Kuroko finally spoke, his voice was cold and clipped. “It’s related to foster care, now if you don’t mind, I have paperwork to complete, and you have homework.” he snatched the document from Kagami’s hand and set to finishing it. “Please don’t ask any more questions.”

There were times when Kuroko closed himself off so much that he became not only unnoticeable, but difficult to look at. His presence could become so weak that the eye would glaze over him, even as he was the only thing on the other person’s mind. This was one of those times. Kagami could barely look at Kuroko, and Kuroko’s face was completely devoid of emotion.

 _“Foster care”…_ The words rang in Kagami’s head as he stared through Kuroko’s practically transparent figure.

The Completely Unhelpful Cycle of Stress and Doom started whirling through Kagami’s mind. You may be familiar with this cycle. It goes something like this.

_Foster care? Is Kuroko in foster care? Is he adopted? Is he not adopted? I’ve never met his family. I have no idea! He doesn’t want me to ask him any more questions! What is the paperwork for? Is he in a home he doesn’t want to be in? Is he safe? Oh my God- what if he isn’t? She said he’d applied before and been turned down! Why is she taking Jason all the way to Australia? What if Kuroko moves to Australia?! I don’t want Kuroko to move to Australia, he’s my best friend!_

Due to the nature of The Completely Unhelpful Cycle of Stress and Doom, all these questions and fears whirled through Kagami’s mind in a matter of seconds, repeated completely twice with the conjunction of _Maybe I’m completely overreacting. BUT WHAT IF I’M NOT!?_ and so Kagami sat there stunned for approximately thirty seconds before reaching over to Kuroko, grabbing his hands and shouting “But I don't want you to move to Australia!”

Kuroko blinked. “What?” he said.

The librarian glared at them some more.

“Sorry" Kuroko said. "What?” he whispered.

“I don’t want you to move to Australia!”

“Who said I was going to move to Australia?” Kuroko looked completely baffled now, with plenty of good reason. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, Jason is moving to Australia, and you’re doing paperwork… and… um…”

“I’m not going to move to Australia, Kagami-kun.”

“You’re not?”

“No, I have no idea how you even got that idea.”

Kagami blushed, feeling quite embarrassed. “I, um, well…” Kagami faltered. Kuroko gave him a small smile of amusement. Kagami blushed some more and went back to reading his homework.

* * *

 

After, when Kagami had done his assigned reading (and not retaining much of it), and Kuroko had finished his paperwork, Kagami was walking home with Kuroko. He didn’t know where Kuroko lived, and he hadn’t ever asked.

“Kuroko?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you another question?”

“…What is it?” Kuroko had tensed up again.

“Are you okay?”

Kuroko stopped walking. He looked up at Kagami, his expression was blank, eyes wide, giving only the impression that whatever it was he was thinking about, it was very important.

“Yes.” he said softly after a minute. “Yes, I believe I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure many of you are familiar with The Completely Unhelpful Cycle of Stress and Doom. It was this very cycle that nearly prevented me from publishing this. It's my first fanfic that I've written in a really long time. 
> 
> Fun fact, Jason's character is based on a nightmare I had. It was terrifying. He's much cuter here, but I'll add some more of his backstory for you guys at the end of the next chapter.
> 
> And I'm sorry I keep changing the number of chapters! As I write it, I keep realising there's more to this story than I thought.


	2. Many Confusing Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poorly constructed information dump. The next chapter is a slightly better, and more emotional information dump.

The Completely Unhelpful Cycle of Stress and Doom was still bothering Kagami a week later, the next time he met Nefastus Transumo. He hadn’t asked Kuroko any more questions, and so he hadn’t got any more answers. Which was only fair, and made complete sense, but still annoyed him. He wanted to know what Kuroko’s family or home life was like, and why it involved doing mysterious paperwork in Latin.

These questions were not answered at all the next time he met Nefastus Transumo. She’d arrived in the school’s gym quietly, surrounded by an air of excitement. Kuroko didn’t look surprised to see her.

“Well?” he asked.

“It got through!”

Kuroko smiled a smile that on anyone else might simply display slight pleasure, but on Kuroko probably meant that he was positively euphoric.

“It did?” Transumo nodded. “Finally!”

“It might still be turned down, of course,” Kuroko nodded to this. “but we should know by the end of the month.” Transumo said. “I’ll be stopping in to check on you more often now.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, but I um, I can’t stay today. I have to be in Iwatobi for an assessment on a change in living arrangements for one of my ongoing cases. But, I’m coming to your next game!”

“You are?”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it.” she grinned at Kuroko. “I had better get going. Nice seeing you again, Kagami!” she said, smiling at him.

“Oh, yeah, you, too.” Kagami considered her smile. There had been something odd about it. Not unfriendly, but worried, maybe. _I’m so confused about what’s going on._

* * *

 

The next time the boys saw Transumo was right after their next game. It hadn’t been a terribly difficult game, but victory was sweet anyhow. She was waving another black folder from the bleachers to grab Kuroko’s attention.

“KUROKO!” she was beaming ear to ear. She kept waving the folder. “IT GOT ACCEPTED!”

Kuroko’s jaw dropped. “It-it did?” He was amazed. He had hoped for this, hoped the whole time, but without ever really expecting it.

“No, I faked the seal as a prank. YES, OF COURSE IT DID!” She dashed down the stairs of the bleachers, jumping over the partition. Kuroko cringed. He could see Kagami being confused out of the corner of his eye.

“Careful.” he admonished.

“Sorry. I just-” Transumo waved her hands around in absence of a coherent way to finish the sentence.

_I have to talk to Kagami about it now._

“Do you want to talk to him about it, or me?” Transumo was smiling gently. Kuroko felt like he should be the one to talk to Kagami. He didn’t feel, however, that he could even convince Kagami that what he was saying was true. He said as much to Transumo.

“Okay then. Go get cleaned up, come back in in a minute. Kagami?” Transumo straightened up a bit. “May I talk to you for a moment?”

Kuroko knew that Kagami had been worrying. In a slightly inappropriate way, it pleased him. He was sort of pleased that Kagami cared enough to worry so much, but since he had no way to answer the questions he had, not safely, anyhow, he had to keep Kagami in the dark. He was pleased that Kagami would worry, but at the same time, he felt very guilty for worrying him in the first place. He glanced back behind him as he was going into the locker room as Transumo and Kagami sat down on the bench.

* * *

 

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“There really is no simple way to describe this. Well, there is. However it entirely depends on your willingness to believe me. It’s a simple situation, just very radical, even by our standards.”

“Well, if there’s a simple explanation, I’d like that one.”

“Alright. Beginning at the beginning then. Often, there are children born with souls that are simply too broken, or too powerfully evil to be safely contained in this dimension.”

“This is the simple explanation?” Kagami asked incredulously.

“I’m afraid so. My job, and the job of the entire organization I work for, is to locate and deal with these children. Each case is handled differently according to the needs of the child, and according to to how damaged, and/or dangerous their soul is.”

“…Is this a prank?” Kagami’s worrying was not going away, as he’d hoped.

“I’m afraid not. As I was saying, caring for these children usually means removing their should from their mind and body, either to be healed, or permanently detained.” she paused to look meaningfully at Kagami. He knew what that look meant. It meant _You should understand what I’m trying to tell you by now._ He rarely did.

“Kuroko’s case-” and it clicked. Kuroko had no soul. That was what she was trying to tell him. But that was ridiculous- of course Kuroko had a soul! Kagami could tell when Kuroko was excited, or happy, or nervous. Those couldn’t be just mental reactions! He could see how passionate Kuroko was on the basketball court. That definitely wasn’t a mentality thing. And this whole conversation was insane in the first place!

Transumo was still talking. “Kuroko’s case is particularly unusual. Most souls we deal with are ranked somewhere from two to eight on a scale of ten. Anything higher than that is extremely rare, and anything lower simply isn’t worth dealing with. Kuroko is one of the rear ones.”

“How so?” Kagami asked, in spite of himself.

“His soul was ranked with a danger level of twelve out of ten.”

“What?” This was ridiculous!

“That’s a danger beyond anything my organization has dealt with in over twenty-six hundred years.”

“Okay, okay hang on!” Kagami rose from the bench angrily. “You’re trying to tell me that Kuroko, five-foot-five, bruises if you look at him wrong, gets dizzy when it’s too hot out, Kuroko, is the most dangerous person to have been born in twenty-six hundred years?! That’s just crazy!”

Transumo was quiet for a minute. “You know, I didn’t expect that to be the bit you got stuck on.” Kagami glared at her. “But yes.” she smiled sadly. “A body and mind and soul. You need all three of those things. A person can’t really live without all three. And a person without a soul finds themself incredibly weakened. They’re more susceptible to extreme temperatures, illnesses, and can’t deal well with over-exertion. In fact, without substitute in place of a soul, those dangerous kids wouldn’t have much likelihood of living past the age of two.”

“What do you mean by substitute?”

“The soul supplements we use hold the structure of the soul in place, but they’re much more fragile, with a sort of brittle, cold texture. Or so I’ve been told. Supplemental examinations aren’t my specialty. I can do ranking checks on raw souls, and that’s about it. I’m a people and paperwork person.”

Kagami nodded. He was still very confused. If he did decide to believe all of this, and at this point he wasn’t even sure he shouldn’t anymore, he could completely understand why Kuroko hadn’t wanted to tell him about it. But… 

“You dropped off paperwork for Kuroko a couple weeks ago. What was it for?”

“Because Kuroko’s soul is so dangerous, there wasn’t really any precedent as to how to handle the situation. We monitored him throughout his mother’s pregnancy, and collected him immediately after his birth. He has no ties to his remaining family, and in keeping with the rulings laid out when he was still very young, he has no permanent ties to anyone.”

Kagami stared at her. “That’s sick!”

“I agree with you. It is.” Transumo tucked her hair behind her ear. She was nervous. “He has a brother, he still lives in Tokyo. He was adopted shortly after his parent’s death. He’s nineteen now. He and Kuroko have never met.”

“You people killed Kuroko’s parents.” Kagami’s voice shook, whether with anger or fear, he was uncertain. He knew he was horrified.

“Yes.” Transumo looked Kagami directly in the eye. He saw it then. She didn’t approve at all of the way Kuroko’s life had been screwed around with. She was helping. Kagami sat back down on the bench.

“What was the paperwork for?”

“It was decided we would monitor his behaviour, his actions. We monitored him closely for fifteen years. Fifteen plus years of living an extremely strenuous lifestyle, that boy has never once violently lashed out at anyone. Not in anything that wasn’t for self-preservation.”

Kagami blinked. “Yeah, but I’ve been on the receiving end of way too many of that guy’s punches to agree with you there.”

“Do you honestly think there was ever any malicious intent behind them, though?”

Kagami considered this. “No.” he replied. “I pretty much always deserved it.”

Transumo nodded, and said, “It was decided that when he was fifteen he could request for his soul to be given over to someone of his choosing. Long story short, he’s chosen you.”

Kagami could have sworn that his heart actually stopped. He knew that despite himself, despite reason, he did believe her after all.

“Me?”

“Will you do it?”

 _She wants me to._ He thought. “I- I don’t know if I can!”

“You’re qualified. In fact,” she said “I think you’re ideal for the position. You live alone, in an apartment for two, or more. If you believe in fate, Kagami, I’d say this is a fair example.”

Kagami just stared at her. “He really doesn’t have anyone else?”

“No.”

“…but I really hate his dog.”

Transumo laughed. She and Kagami both knew.

He would do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire AU started when I learned Kagami lived alone. God bless characters that live alone. Makes fanfic so easy. 
> 
> Did I imply that Nanase Haruka also has no soul? ...Maaybe... Did I imply that Makoto is moving in with him? ...Yes!
> 
> Ooh! And I said last week I would talk about Jason. Jason's backstory is literally just a nightmare I had where this adorable little baby was able to manipulate people's minds so they loved him, which wasn't too hard since he was an adorable baby, but while they were fawning over how cute he was, he ate them. It was messed up. I didn't go back to sleep for several hours.
> 
> EDIT: Also, in terms of 12/10 danger, I finally found a visualization that it's too late to put in. You know in X-Men: The Last Stand when Jean is fucking shit up like mad? With his soul intact, Kuroko would be worse than that.
> 
> EDIT: IF I am working on an sequel to this, which I'm not saying I am, there are a few things in here that will need editing...


	3. Shower Scene  *wink wink*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TraaAAGIC BAACKSTORY!!

“Hey!” Kagami shouted. “When I get out the shower, we gotta do a bunch of paperwork, apparently!”

Kuroko jerked and knocked over the small bottle of shampoo he’d been using.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes!” Kuroko shouted back. “I just- knocked something over.” They had paperwork to do. Kagami had believed Transumo. He had said yes. Kuroko was stunned. He’s only submitted the paperwork a week ago! Admittedly, he had submitted it seven times before it got through, but it was all happening so fast. Within a span of, what, fifteen minutes? Everything had changed.

He could feel tears coming to his eyes, and in wiping them away managed to get an entire handful of soap in his eyes.

“Ow! Ow, ow ow!”

“Are you okay?”

“I got soap in my eyes.”

Well, at least it would explain away tears. Why was he crying in the first place though? Shock? Happiness?

He hadn’t ever cried for either of those things before. In fact, he hadn’t cried for much in his life.

He rinsed of the rest of the suds and grabbed around for his towel.

“Hey,” Kagami called from one of the other showers.

“What is it?”

“Nefastus-san… was what she said all true, or are you messing with me?”

Kuroko was cold. “It was true.”

“Well. This is weird. I mean-” Kagami shouted from the showers, “It’s not bad, I just didn’t expect a situation like this to ever really happen.”

“No. Who would?” 

"Yeah.”

* * *

 

 

When Kagami had gotten dressed back into civilian clothes, he turned to Kuroko to ask what Kuroko hoped would be his last question on this situation. (Although he knew it wasn’t likely to be.)

“What did she mean when she said you don’t have any permanent ties to anyone?”

Kuroko flinched. He didn't answer the question for a minute.

“Kuroko?”

“I…” he took a deep breath. “The Anima Patronos is the name of the organization that Transumo works for. They were the ones who decided I needed to be kept very isolated, and also ‘independent.’ ‘Independent’ may not sound so bad, but it really just means unprotected. And isolated means just that. Alone. There are people who are responsible for taking care that my soul is safe, but no one taking care that I am. Transumo’s job is not to make sure I’m okay, it’s to make sure that I’m behaving.”

Kagami stared at Kuroko. He’d seen Kuroko angry, but he had never seen him so bitter. So resentful. But then Kuroko took a deep breath, and gathered himself back into his usual composure.

“Of course, Transumo has done a lot more than she was supposed to. She asked multiple times if she could have full responsibility for me, although they turned her down. And she still has more than sixty-eight cases that’s she’s working on.”

“There isn’t anyone taking care of you.”

Kuroko looked up, unfazed. “No-” he blinked, surprised at the look of horror on Kagami’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t have a job.”

Kuroko blinked. “What?”

“I mean, you’d talk about it _sometimes_ if you had a job. So if you don’t have a job, and no one is taking care of you…” Kagami swallowed hard.

“Then where do I live, and how do I afford food and clothes?”

“And dog toys.”

“Nigou doesn’t have that many toys.”

“Kuroko.” A playful squeak was emitted from Kuroko’s bag.

“Well, people don’t notice me much anyways. I don’t really need many clothes besides the school uniform.” Kuroko gave that tiny wry smile, which Kagami usually liked. “I do some odd jobs occasionally. It gets food anyways, and even pays for team trips.”

“That still leaves one question, though.”

“I got Nigou’s ball at Pet Smart.”

“Not that one.” Kagami frowned. Kagami could be clueless, reckless, and frankly just bone-dead stupid. But he could also be very persistent when he knew he was onto something. He was ruthless that way with basketball, never giving up. Kuroko loved that about Kagami. He was glad that that trait carried over into real life. He was sure that Kagami had figured out the answer to the question. But he knew he still had to say it.

“I lived with Transumo for a few years while my case was being evaluated. But after that, they decided I couldn’t live in the shadow realm anymore-”

“Wait, the shadow realm?”

“Yes, so then… I didn’t live in the shadow realm.”

“No but, the shadow realm?”

Kuroko sighed. Maybe Kagami wasn’t that keen after all. “There are multiple planes of existence in our universe. The shadow realm deals with unsafe souls. That’s where Transumo and the Anima Patronos are from.”

“The realms?”

“Yeah, there’s this one, Vita, and five others; Superum, Simulacrum, Infernus, Umbra, and Purgatorio. Umbra is the shadow realm.”

Kagami blinked in a sort of I-don’t-understand-but-I’ll-just-run-with-it-because-I-don’t-really-want-to kind of way. “Oh. Okay.”

The rest of what Kuroko had said then seemed to catch up with him. He sighed, and sat down.

“No sense walking on eggshells, though. You’re homeless.”

Kuroko flinched. He punched Kagami in the arm.

“Ow!”

“Rude.” Kuroko said, trying not to let his voice waver.

“So is punching people!” Kuroko stared intently at the ground. “How old were you?”

“Seven.”

Kagami swore. Kuroko said nothing. Kagami swore again.

“Aren’t you going to tell me to stop letting my imagination run wild?”

“No.”

Kagami hung his head. “…There are a lot of creeps in Japan.”

“I’ve noticed.” Kagami’s shoulders shook. “Kagami-kun?” Kuroko blinked, shocked. “Kagami-kun, please don’t cry.”

“I’m not!” Kagami lied. He sat up abruptly. “I’m just angry! I’m angry that anyone would do that to you, and I’m angry at you for not telling me about it ages ago-”

“You wouldn’t have believed me-”

“That’s not the point!”

“Well, I wasn’t legally allowed to, either.”

Kagami didn’t seem to feel like being reasonable. He wasn’t finished feeling angry. “…well… STILL! I- I hate that you haven’t had anyone to take care of you! How could they do something so stupid?!”

Kuroko sighed. “It was unfair. And it makes me angry too, but it wasn’t stupid. They decided I was too dangerous to be left around people.”

“They were wrong!”

“That’s true.” Kuroko glanced away. “But it doesn’t really bother me. I know that it should, and sometimes it bothers me how much I really am fine.” Kuroko looked determinedly at Kagami. “But hey, it’s over now, right?”

* * *

 

Kagami leaned back. The resolve in Kuroko’s eyes wavered slightly at the end of the question. Kagami knew Kuroko had opened up so much more than he must be comfortable with. Kagami understood what Kuroko and Transumo were asking him. Owning Kuroko’s soul sounded wrong. Like some kind of dark magic slavery. Taking care of, protecting, and providing for Kuroko, that he could, and would gladly do. He would keep Kuroko safe under all and any circumstances.

“Right? …Kagami-kun?” Kuroko repeated his question anxiously.

“Yes.” Kagami took Kuroko’s hand in his. “It is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one is sweet and awkward and precious, I promise.


	4. I Really Fucking Love Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko's first night living with Kagami.

“Well, welcome to the Kagami household.” Kagami gestured awkwardly, nearly hitting Kuroko in the face.

“Thank you.” Kuroko smiled.

“Uh, I guess your room is just down the hall, then.” Kagami blushed. “You can unpack in there, even though it’s not technically official yet.”

 _Unpack._ The thought stalled Kuroko for a second. He hadn’t bothered unpacking his bag in years.

“Why is that? I mean can’t it be official today?”

“They have to check to make sure everything is in order. Transumo will drop the paperwork off tomorrow, along with… you know. My soul.” Kuroko avoided looking at Kagami. He knew that it was weird.

“Right. It’s late, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to eat, or just go to bed, ’cause I’m starving.”

“Of course you are.” Kuroko deadpanned.

“Shut up!”

“Yes, I’m hungry.”

“Okay, I haven’t got a lot in, though.”

As it turned out, that was a complete lie. Kagami had plenty of food in, or at least it seemed that way to Kuroko. Kagami decided to make a stir-fry, despite it being well past 11:30. Still, stir-fry was quick, Kagami said, and he could just make it with shrimp that he had already cooked that were in his freezer. Kuroko watched Kagami cook, and smiled to himself. He had never dreamt that this would be happening so quickly. His dorky, erratic Kagami-kun had said yes. He would be the light to Kuroko’s shadow.

After setting the plates down, and stuffing his face of most of the stir-fry, Kagami asked a question, the answer to which Kuroko had just been considering.

“Why did you pick me, of all people?”

“Well, you’re an idiot, and you’re completely reckless.”

“Wow thanks.” Kagami said.

“I didn’t want to be with someone who would baby me, like Transumo, but I also didn’t want someone who wouldn’t take care of me, because I know that there are times I need it. I wanted there to be some balance.”

Kagami blinked in realisation. “Wow. We’re gonna be together forever.”

“You didn’t realise that?”

"Um, no." Kagami said. Buth then he smiled, and nodded slightly. “Heh, awesome.”

“You’re brilliant, though, really.” Kagami stared at Kuroko. “And it’s nice, because even though you can be a kind of careless asshole, and aggressive, I do trust you.” Kuroko was staring sincerely back at Kagami, and saw him blush brightly.

“Aw shut up and finish your stir-fry.” he mumbled. But Kuroko could see him smiling.

* * *

 

Kuroko had never had his own room. Although, he supposed, it wasn’t only his. He was sharing with Nigou. He smiled at his dog, who waved his tail and panted back happily.

Kuroko carefully hung up his school uniform, and basketball uniform in the closet, and fit his few shirts and other clothes in the dresser. He put Nigou’s toys in the corner of the room, even though he knew Nigou would wind up sleeping in the bed with him.

Kuroko was incredibly glad to have found Nigou. There were probably hundreds of studies on animals, and especially dogs, having a positive emotional influence on sick or depressed children. And god knew Kuroko had needed that after middle school. Perhaps God had sent Nigou. It wasn’t impossible, and the chances of Kuroko finding a dog that was more like him than he was ought to have been impossible.

Kuroko sometimes wondered what his life would be like without Nigou. He’d spent many nights hiding in public buildings overnight, and had never been caught. Consequently, he had read a lot of books, and knew a lot of (mostly) useless trivia. One of the trivia tid-bits he had found to be useful was knowing that there was a law stating that if an animal is stated to be a service animal, no one may legally insist it leaves the building, and they may not inquire what kind of service it provides. This was how Kuroko had gotten away with bringing Nigou into an alarming amount of places that dogs were not usually allowed.

And the thing was, it wasn’t entirely a lie that Nigou was a service animal.

Kuroko looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was not on. He turned it on. It was 12:44.

“Good night, Nigou.”

“Arf!”

Kuroko smiled, and got into bed. It was soft, and warm, and today had been absolutely incredible. He fell asleep rather quickly.

* * *

 

Kagami was jerked awake at four in the morning to hear a faint scream coming from down the hall. Bleary with sleep and bewilderment he wondered who was screaming. And then he remembered.

“Kuroko?!” he fell out of bed, and quickly got up, running to Kuroko’s room. He didn’t know what he expected to find upon entering. A burglar, a massive spider, the girl from the ring? He didn’t really think that any of those things would really make Kuroko scream, though. He flung open Kuroko’s door to find him, and Nigou, still in bed. Kuroko jumped when he heard Kagami open the door, and Kagami was taken aback by the fear in Kuroko’s face. He could see the sweat on Kuroko’s face, how heavily he was breathing, and his shaking shoulders. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were red.

“I… I heard you scream.”

Kuroko held Nigou tight in his arms. “I’m sorry I woke you up.” his voice was shaky and quiet. He’d been crying.

“You- did you… have a nightmare?” Kagami blinked.

“Yeah.” Kuroko said softly. “I’m okay, though. Go back to sleep.”

Kagami just stood there. He knew everyone got nightmares, he did. He’d just never thought of Kuroko having them. He looked so scared. He didn’t have his usual blank stare, but a fearful one, staring into the middle distance tensely.

“Do... do you want to stay in my room?” Kagami stammered, in lack of a better idea.

“What?”

“Not to do anything weird!” he shouted, blushing, fiercely. “Just because of the nightmare, that’s all!”

Kuroko hesitated. “…Okay.” he said.

“But you can’t bring the dog.”

Nigou whined, and Kuroko pouted, just slightly, but it was enough. Those big shining blue eyes, still filled with tears.

“Dammit.”

Kuroko’s pout disappeared, and he and Nigou followed Kagami into his room. Kuroko did at least leave Nigou to sleep on the floor, although Kagami had no confidence that he would stay there. Kagami climbed back into bed, then slid over to the side to make room for Kuroko. He noticed how tightly Kuroko curled up, wrapping the covers up to his chin. And while it was sort of cute, (Kagami had long since gotten over the “no homo” reaction to thinking Kuroko was cute and now just accepted it as a fact.) it was also sort of sad. But he shrugged and rolled over.

“Good night, Kuroko.”

“Good night, Kagami-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I said they don't bone, I meant it. However, that's not to say that they won't cuddle a LOT. Because they will. Chapter 8 is literally 100% cuddling.
> 
> I have to admit, I don't know if the service animal law applies in Japan, I only know that it's true in Ontario, Canada.
> 
> I will not be posting the next chapter on Thursday, since I am about to be super fucking busy for the rest of the week. Sorry!
> 
> And thank you so much for all the awesome support, you guys are great!


	5. It's Tiny and Precious and It Can Definitely Kill You if You Let It Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basic sorcery. Like that shit is easy as hell.

It wasn’t the first time Kuroko had woken up wrapped in another guy’s arms. But it was the first time he’d woken up with his nose buried in the other guy’s collarbone, and their shirt clenched in his fists, completely having forgotten the previous night’s bad dream. He was happy. So happy he thought he could explode. He wouldn’t, of course, that was unthinkable. He settled for reflecting instead on how safe and warm he felt, and let contentment wash over him as he wiggled even closer to Kagami to drink in his smell, something between toothpaste, Nigou, and sweat and the moment. Not what would generally be considered pleasant, but Kuroko liked it. He was so close he could feel Kagami’s heart pick up the pace as he inhaled.

“Oh, you’re awake, Kagami-kun.”

“Your dog is on my face.” came a muffled voice.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. Your dog is on my face.”

“Okay.”

“Get your dog off my face.”

“Do we have to go to school today?”

“Yes. Now, about this dog?”

Kuroko sat up and moved Nigou off Kagami’s face, where he had been quite happily suffocating the redhead. Kuroko looked down to see Kagami grinning.

“What is it?”

“Your hair is a mess.”

Kuroko looked up and ran his fingers through his light hair, making the blue spikes worse, if anything else. Kagami laughed.

“You look ridiculous! Go take a shower, I’ll make breakfast.”

“I don’t want to get out of bed.”

“I don’t want to be late for school.” Kagami said, clambering out of bed.

Kuroko wriggled into the middle of the bed and pulled the covers over his head. “But it’s so warm.”

“It’s warm in the shower too. Don’t take too long, I want to use it after you.” Kagami’s voice sounded muffled to Kuroko from under the blankets.

“Fine.” Kuroko said, not moving.

“Get up! Or else we’ll have to run there while eating toast, and I’m not prepared for that level of bullshit today.”

Kuroko felt the same way, so he got up and took a shower. Kagami was right, it was warm in the shower.

But it didn’t smell the same.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Riko and Koga complained about them not having come with the rest of the team to get dinner, and Kagami did poorly on an English exam he had completely forgotten to study for. The only really different thing about that day was the anticipation Kagami felt about the fact that he was going to receive possession of Kuroko’s soul later that afternoon.

And Transumo did show up later that afternoon, just as promised.

“Good afternoon, boys.” she said.

“Hello.” Kuroko replied.

“Okay, well, we might as well just dive in. Kagami, there’s some very important things you need to know how to do before I give you the soul.”

Kagami stiffened slightly. “Like what?”

“It’s really only the one thing, a special type of medicinal sorcery that will repair his supplements if they’re damaged.”

“Um, I don’t know that I can do sorcery.” Kagami blinked.

“It’s just rune magic. Anyone with a soul can do that.” Kuroko said.

“So you can’t?”

“I think that if Kuroko had a soul, he could accomplish a lot more than rune magic.” Transumo smiled. Kuroko did not.

“We should go into the living room to do it?” Kuroko asked.

“Sure.”

Transumo sat next to Kagami to show him what to do. “It’s very simple,” she said, demonstrating. “You just draw the rune on your palm-” “What if I don’t have a pen?” “Then he dies, probably.” Kagami stared at her in horror. “I’m kidding. But seriously, carry a pen.”

“Okay!” Kagami stared at the rune on Transumo’s hand, and copied it onto his own, very carefully.

“The incantation is ‘ _reficere muros_ ’.” Transumo said. “You place your hand, with the rune, over his heart and say that.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“And it all hinges on me having a pen with me.”

“Yup.”

Kagami swore under his breath.

“I heard that, young man.” Kagami was amazed at the speed Transumo went from something along the lines of ‘cool teacher’ to ‘friend’s pissed mom’. Amazed and a little impressed.

“Sorry.” he said. “But that’s sort of terrifying.”

“I know, but the likelihood of you needing to use this spell is pretty much nil.” she smiled. “Still though, you should practice it.”

“Okay.” Kagami looked at his hand, then at Kuroko. He grinned, and shoved his hand onto Kuroko’s face, nearly pushing him off the couch. Kuroko punched him back. Then took Kagami’s hand and placed it gently over his heart.

“Oh-oh. Okay.” Kagami blushed. “Um,” he cleared his throat. “Reficere muros.” Kagami’s eyes widened as a bright red light shone between his hand and Kuroko’s chest, blazing before dimming to a dull gold, and fading away.

“Holy shit.” Kagami whispered. He looked at Kuroko, who’s face was completely blank, as usual. “Um, how was that?”

“That was good.” Kuroko said. He looked down. “You can take your hand off now.”

“Oh!” Kagami drew back, blushing even more. “Sorry.”

“Well!” Transumo said. “The paperwork is completed, you can perform medicinal sorcery, all that’s left I suppose, is this.” she drew from her jacket pocket, in what was probably a rather over-dramatic flourish, an underwhelming, tiny black canister.

It was underwhelming. No more than an inch and a half long, with a lid that had a small hook attached, and and a piece of what Kagami thought was probably _not_ plastic.

“You can move that part to look at it if you want.”

Kagami blinked at her, and then slowly turned the (plastic? glass?) piece to see inside the little canister.

 _On a scale of 1-10, ten being the most evil, destructive thing you can imagine, it’s a 12._ He remembered. The thing is, the human mind can’t really fathom that. Ten wasn’t the most evil thing you can imagine, it was the most evil thing that had existed in recorded history, and that’s a rather large difference. And a twelve...

Kagami stared wide-eyed at it. Only for a second. He wanted to scream, or cry. He felt like his heart was breaking- there were shards of glass in his lungs, his side stung, as if he’d been running for hours, and his face stung like it had been struck. He was in pain, and couldn’t cry out. He was suffocating under a cloud of bitterness and rage- He-

“Kagami-kun?” He looked up. Kuroko was looking at him, large blue eyes through thick blue lashes in a small, pale, almost child-like face. But his expression. Empty. Kagami looked back at the canister, sliding the small window shut. Kuroko’s expression was empty, but he couldn’t believe that this writhing, screaming pain was what was supposed to be inside him.

“Yeah?”

“You started shaking.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.” Kuroko glanced at the canister. He seemed curious. _Well of course he’s curious, who the hell wouldn’t be?_ Still, Kagami had an almost irrational instinct to not let Kuroko anywhere near the thing. Whether it was to make sure the two never got back together, or to protect Kuroko from it, he wasn’t entirely sure, but felt like it was probably both. He was holding it tightly now, and could feel it. A small, almost undetectable vibration, or rather, a series of tiny vibrations. _Like a little heartbeat. If it wasn’t so horrifyingly evil, that might be cute._

Transumo stood. “Well, I guess that’s that.” she said. She was smiling sadly. “I’ll be stopping in every week or so to check on you two.” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“You’re not leaving already, are you?” Kuroko asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, I had better.” she kissed Kuroko’s forehead, and quietly let herself out, almost as invisibly as Kuroko sometimes was.

“So, um… where should I put this?” Kagami asked. Kuroko reached behind him and tugged on the chain around his neck, undoing the clasp. He held the end out to Kagami, who put it through the hook at the top of the canister. It clinked gently against the ring.

“How’s that?” Kuroko asked.

“That works.” Kagami replied.

A heavy silence fell over the two of them, as they both stared at Kuroko’s soul, now resting casually next to Kagami’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, you can see my blatantly obvious foreshadowing, can't you?
> 
> Also, really terribly obvious anime trope there. Sorry. Sort of. Not really, it made me laugh.
> 
> EDIT:  
> Okay, so now here's the shittiest fucking news. My computer is currently having diagnostics run on it to see if my hard drive has to be completely erased and rebooted. So I will not be updating on Thursday, like I had hoped. No I do not have backups. Yes, I hate myself for it. I'm sorry.
> 
> MORE EDIT:  
> They have been able to save all my data! I still cannot update on Thursday, since that's tomorrow, and I don't expect to have it by then, but I may be able to do it on Monday! (You cannot imagine how relieved I am about this omg)
> 
> EXTRA MORE EDIT:  
> I have my laptop back now! I will be updating on Monday, I have to reinstall a few apps so I can work on this lovely little project. I am so relieved, though. Going to go back up my computer now...


	6. Nightmares Suck Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haha angst

Kuroko continued to sleep in Kagami’s room. He also continued to have nightmares, which it seemed there was no solution to. Around four in the morning, two or three times a week, Kuroko would wake Kagami up by beginning to talk in his sleep.

“Mmghf… nnennnne… p’nappl…”

 _Pineapple?_ Kagami smiled. He wasn’t even terribly annoyed at being woken up. That’s so cute. He was debating getting his phone to film it, when something changed.

“I don’… no… nnnnnuuhh… no!” Kuroko’s eyes tightened, his lips trembling. “Stop it!” His voice was much clearer, and insistent. “No!”

Kagami sat upright, fully alert all of a sudden. “Kuroko! Hey, Kuroko!”

Kuroko twisted away from Kagami, getting himself all tangled in the sheets, hands balled into fists.

“Kuroko, wake up! It’s just a bad dream, Kuroko-” Kagami gripped Kuroko by the shoulders, which Kuroko responded to by screaming and falling out of bed. “Kuroko!” Kagami leaned over. “Are you okay?”

Kuroko sat up, drawing his knees to his chest, curling up to cry. Kagami scrambled out of bed to kneel in front of him.

“Are you hurt? Kuroko?”

“N-no.” 

Kagami breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out to Kuroko who jerked away from his hand. Kagami blinked, and withdrew his hand. “Do you want to talk about it?” Kuroko continued to cry softly, quietly breaking Kagami’s heart. “Kuroko?”

“I… no. No.”

“Okay.” Kagami said. “Do you, um… want a… um, a hug? Or something?”

Kuroko looked up at Kagami, who was blushing again. His face was stained with tears, and his wide eyes were looking very, very blue contrasted with his bloodshot sclera. 

The next thing Kagami was registering after that was the force with which Kuroko had leapt forwards into his arms. Then that Kuroko was sobbing against his chest, as Kagami wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. Then that Nigou was whining, and trying to get between them. Kagami scooped Kuroko into his arms and carried him back into their bed. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Kagami repeated softly. 

“I… I’m sorry!” Kuroko sobbed.

“It’s okay!” Kagami cried. “You didn’t do anything!”

“I- I shouldn’t be crying like this! And I woke you up again!”

Kagami didn’t like it when Kuroko cried, but “If you need to cry, then you might as well. No one should keep everything all bottled up like you do.”

Kuroko made a noise that was something between a laugh and a gag. He cried quietly for another minute before falling asleep, still in Kagami’s arms.

Kagami soon learned that there were only two nightmares that Kuroko ever had, and he learned that the way to deal with them was very different. He could tell within the first few minutes which one it was from the things Kuroko said, broken sentences. It was always either “No, stop” “I don’t want to” or “I can’t” “I’m sorry”. The way to deal with the first was to yell at him until he woke up, and then give him enough space until he was ready to be comforted. The way to deal with the second was much harder.

“Uh… ha…”

Kagami lifted his head. Kuroko’s hands were tight around the blankets, and shaking. There was sweat on his forehead. 

“Kuroko?”

“I… I, I can’t! I can’t, I’m sorry!” Kuroko’s voice was higher than normal, and it sounded almost like he was choking. Tears rolled from his tightly closed eyes.

“Kuroko, wake up!” Kagami shouted. Kuroko turned toward Kagami.

“I can’t! Just… I, I can’t, I’m sorry!” 

 _He can’t wake up?!_ “Kuroko!” he shouted. “Kuroko!” He reached out to shake him, but then remembered the last time he’d tried that. Kuroko began to scream. Kagami quickly got over his minor worry then, and grabbed Kuroko by both shoulders and shook him. “Kuroko!”

Kuroko’s eyes flew open, and he stared at Kagami in terror for a second. “Kagami?” Tears welled in Kuroko’s eyes, and he began screaming in horror, babbling words in Latin and in Japanese, only half of which Kagami could understand at all. Apologies, prayers. 

He wasn’t awake.

“Kuroko, wake up! I’m okay! Everything’s fine! Wake up!”

Kuroko inhaled sharply and went still. His eyes gained focus.

“Kuroko? Are you-”

“I’m going to be sick.” In a second he’d ran out of the room.

Kagami sat in bed for a minute in stunned silence. He wiped the tears from his eyes that he hadn’t realised were there. He got to his feet and followed Kuroko, who was in the bathroom, throwing up.

 _I wonder if he’s been having nightmares like this his whole life, or if they’re happening now because his soul is so much closer to him._ Kagami’s fingers wrapped around the small container and Himuro’s ring. He heard the toilet flush.

Kuroko was brushing his teeth when Kagami reached the bathroom. He was paler than usual, shaking like a leaf, his eyes were red and swollen, his nose was running, and there was toothpaste foam dripping down his chin. He was a mess.

“Kuroko.”

Kuroko looked up, startled by Kagami’s harsh tone, then looked away, almost guiltily. 

“I need you to tell me what just happened.” Kuroko didn’t reply. “That was the worst one you’ve had since you got here, and I need to know what happened.”

Kuroko spat into the sink, rinsed off his toothbrush and set it back on the counter. He took a deep breath before speaking. “It was just about the same as usual before you tried waking me up. I… was… hurting someone, and I couldn’t stop myself, and then…” Fresh tears rolled down Kuroko’s cheeks. “I, I saw it was you and I- I still couldn’t stop!”

Kagami wrapped his arms around the small boy. He didn’t know what to say. _Kuroko was worried about me?_ “It was when I tried to wake you up the first time, wasn’t it?”

Kuroko nodded into Kagami’s chest.

“I’m so sorry!” Kagami held Kuroko tighter. “I made your nightmare worse!” 

Kuroko craned his neck to look up at Kagami. “It wasn’t your fault!”

“It kind of was, though.”

“You were trying to help me.” Kuroko seemed calm again now, eyes wide and sincere, in an expression that wasn’t quite neutral, but determined. It was his expression, more than his words that reassured Kagami. “Thanks.”

Kagami smiled. “No problem.”

“I think we that should try to get some more sleep before school.”

“Yeah, okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "YEAH LET'S PREY ON THE WORST FEARS OF THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THIS AU IT'LL BE AWESOME" nope I am dead inside. So sorry. 
> 
> there's an immature joke shared in this chapter and chapter eight. (1,069 words in both of them.)
> 
> EDIT: Actually, chapter eight is a lot more now, because I've been adding on to it. (It's my favourite.)


	7. Sneak Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curses.

“Now, just to recap what I said yesterday,” Riko said. “I don’t expect this to be a particularly hard game, which means we can save up some energy. Start hard and take the lead, we should have them by the second half. Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good! Get going, then!”

The tip-off went to Seirin, but as Kuroko stood in place he heard something he really had not expected.

“Muros frangere.”

Kuroko heard a shatter, and froze. He could feel shards of glass digging into his lungs. He was still, not even breathing. He couldn’t think to decipher the spell. _Muros. Something to do with the soul supplements?_ Who had said that? He didn’t think to look around. He really hadn’t inhaled, and was starting to see spots. He took a small breath, and the sudden excruciating pain threw him to his knees. 

“Kuroko!” 

 _Kagami-kun?_ The room was spinning. He was caught between the instinct to breathe and the need to be as still as possible. He couldn’t see, and he could feel his heart pounding the broken pieces of soul supplements deeper into flesh. He could feel blood trickling down his ribs. _No, that’s ridiculous, that’s not how that works._ But wasn’t it? Wasn’t blood blooming crimson through his uniform, splattering onto the ground? Was someone screaming, no, maybe... it wasn’t him, he didn’t have any air.

“Kuroko!” Kagami’s hands were on his shoulders. His voice echoed in Kuroko’s ears.  _How was this even possible?_ He thought. _The soul supplements exist at an entirely different level of reality than my body, how is this affecting me physically?_

And then he coughed. He coughed, which was probably the worst thing he could have possibly done. He could feel himself choking on blood. _Impossible..._ Losing the ability to think. Was Kagami still holding him? He couldn’t feel anything, not even the bleeding anymore. He coughed again, and fainted.

* * *

 

Kagami heard Kuroko fall to his knees from the opposite side of the court. He dropped the ball he’d been dribbling and ran to his roommate’s side.

“Kuroko!” he cried, suddenly scared out of his wits. What the hell was happening?

“Kagami, what-” Hyuuga began to rebuke Kagami for leaving his position, until he saw Kuroko, kneeling on the ground, struggling to breathe. Kagami just barely heard the whistle blow as someone called for a time-out. 

“Kuroko!” He grabbed Kuroko by the shoulders. Kuroko was staring into space, not breathing. He looked at Kagami, wide blue eyes filled with fear and confusion. He said nothing at all for a minute, and then coughed, blood dripping out of his mouth onto the basketball court. He coughed again, harder, and went limp in Kagami’s arms.

“Oh, my god!” Izuki said, appearing, to Kagami at least, out of the blue. “What just happened?!”

“I don’t know!” Kagami cried. “He just stopped breathing, then he coughed up blood and passed out!” He picked Kuroko up gently. _Why is he so light? He should be heavier than this._ Kagami carried him to the bench. 

“Is he okay? What the hell happened?” Riko asked.

“No. I don’t know. He’s still not breathing.” Kagami said, trying and failing in not absolutely falling to pieces at the sight of the blood running down Kuroko’s chin.

“Oh, my god.” Koga said. There didn’t seem to be much else to say. Teppei hurried to pull a phone from his pocket, intending no doubt to call an ambulance. Would they even arrive in time?

“Kuroko!” Kagami shouted, receiving no response. _Rune magic._ Kagami thought. He couldn’t do it in front of everyone, surely. That would mean completely destroying the secret, making a million questions. Kuroko’s lips were turning blue, and Kagami decided he didn’t give a damn. A secret wasn’t worth more than Kuroko.

He dug around in his bag for the pen he had brought, and upon finding it, immediately drew the rune on his left hand, and placed it over Kuroko’s heart.

“Reficere muros!” 

Red light sparked between his hand and Kuroko’s heart, all but hiding the soft gold glow, which pulsed rapidly, but eventually slowed down to shoot through the room, it’s effect not occurring to Kagami just then, since all of his attention was focused on the pale boy he was holding. 

Kuroko’s eyes fluttered open as he slowly drew a shaky breath, and resumed coughing up blood. It wasn’t much of an improvement, and Kagami stared at Kuroko until he took a gasping breath, and a bit of colour returned to his face. Kagami sighed in relief, and pressed a kiss to Kuroko’s forehead.

“Are you okay?” Riko asked.

Kuroko was still trying to concentrate on putting oxygen back in his bloodstream, and so nodded, rather than answering aloud. The rest of the Seirin team let out a sigh of uneasy relief. 

* * *

 

Since Kuroko was clearly in no condition to play, Mitobe volunteered to drive Kuroko back home, since he had a license that he had somehow managed to acquire a year in advance, through methods that no one wanted to question. 

“Take him back to my apartment.” Kagami said, grabbing his keys from his bag.

Mitobe nodded silently. 

Kagami watched Mitobe carry Kuroko out through the locker room tensely. 

“So, Kagami…” Koga said, with a tone that was somehow equal parts mischief and genuine concern, “How long has Kuroko been staying at your place?”

Kagami blinked. “Oh, um… about, five weeks, I guess?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Kagami wondered why no one was mentioning the magic. Surely they had all seen the light, or at least noticed him drawing the rune on his hand. But no one said a word about it. 

Riko had gone to inquire if they could postpone the game, but found that there wasn’t time to reschedule. Kagami frowned at this, wanting to go home to take care of Kuroko, but instead found himself saying that he would stay and finish the game.  He knew that whatever had happened wasn’t just an accident. Someone had to have done something to take Kuroko out of the game. And even if he couldn’t figure out who it was, he could at least beat their ass for Kuroko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had to extend it just now to be longer. It was way too short. But wow, yes. All bad. All very bad. So sorry. Next chapter is all fluffy blankets and puppies and adorableness. Will post on Monday, very soon, as an apology for being mean to the characters I love.


	8. Translating Marvel Films

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the comfort part of hurt/comfort.

When Kagami got home, he found Kuroko buried under a mountain of blankets, watching TV.

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

Kagami crossed over to the couch.

“How are you feeling?”

“Did you bring Nigou home?”

“Of course I did. How are you?”

“Did we win the match?”

“Yes, actually, we did. Are you okay?”

“Well, I can breathe again, and I stopped coughing up blood, so that’s nice.”

Kagami froze at the way Kuroko was shrugging off the near-death experience that had had Kagami panicking for the entire remainder of the match. “D-do you want something to eat?”

“Not hungry.”

“Glass of water?”

Kuroko nodded. “Okay.”

After fetching some water, Kagami nudged Kuroko into a sitting position. “Scootch over.” It took quite a bit of rearranging blankets and squirming, but before too long, Kuroko was nestled comfortably on Kagami’s lap, and Nigou had somehow managed to curl up on Kuroko’s. They were all very close, and Kagami could feel Kuroko’s pulse from where he was sitting. It was steady and regular, and reassuring. Kagami looked up at the movie Kuroko had been watching.

“It doesn’t have subtitles! Why are you watching it in English?”

“The remote was way over there.” Kuroko mumbled, gesturing to the remote, which was indeed _way_ over there, and Kagami had no intention of getting up either. Kagami had noticed that Kuroko was still shivering, despite the eight blankets. _Where the fuck did he even find all these blankets?_ Kagami wondered. “Eh, Fair enough. Want me to translate?”

“Sure.”

“‘Ever boxed you?’ ‘I have, yes.’”

“I don’t think that’s what he said.”

“It’s close enough, shush. ‘Rule number one: You do not take your eyes away your opponent.’”

“Kagami-kun, your English sucks.”

“My English is flawless. Watch her kick his ass.”

* * *

 

They remained like that for the rest of the evening, until Kagami carried Kuroko (and all eight blankets) to his room with him. He’d fallen asleep again about half an hour after Kagami got home, but other than being a little paler than usual, and continuing to shiver, he seemed fine.

Kagami, however, was not fine.

Kagami was stressed beyond belief about his roommate, who he was supposed to be taking care of, and instead had allowed him to become severely injured, on the brink of death. He felt guilty, and scared. He was worried terribly that he couldn’t actually take care of Kuroko after all. He was not surprised to wake the next morning with his arms tightly wrapped around the boy. _At least he’s stopped shaking._ He thought, which was quickly followed up by, I should make him breakfast. However, when Kagami attempted to get up, his arm was tightly gripped and yanked forward as Kuroko rolled over.

“Kuroko, are you awake?” Kagami laughed.

Kuroko mumbled something that sounded like an affirmation.

“You didn’t eat last night, you hungry?”

“Mhmm.” Kuroko mumbled.

“I’ll make you breakfast if you give me my arm back.”

“I don’t think breakfast is worth as much as an arm.”

“Not even bacon?” Kuroko groaned. “Fine.”

* * *

 

Kagami was just about to bring breakfast into their room for Kuroko, when he stumbled in, still wrapped in a blanket, hair an absolute wreck.

“I slept in my basketball uniform.”

“Yeah. Feeling better?”

“I’m still tired.”

“You did just wake up.”

“Mrghmff.”

“Omelette?”

“Bacon?”

“Yes, bacon.”

“Yes, please.” Kagami placed the eggs and bacon in front of Kuroko and kissed him on the forehead. Then he froze. _What the hell, I did it again!_ He thought, blushing. Kuroko however, hadn’t seemed to notice, and was happily eating. Kagami wasn’t sure if this was because he didn’t mind, or because he was still out of it. He watched as Kuroko shovelled the food down.

“Geez, slow down before you kill yourself. It’s not a race!”

“You’re one to talk.” Kuroko said, mouth full.

“I take it you’re feeling better.” Kagami smiled at Kuroko’s deadpan sarcasm.

“Meh.”

He was glad it was Saturday, and he didn’t have to worry about whether or not Kuroko was actually well enough to go to school. He was also glad that he had another whole two days for Kuroko to get better. And he was especially glad that he had two whole days to hang around taking care of Kuroko and being appallingly lazy. Because while Kuroko could get into an awful lot of trouble, he wasn’t exactly very high maintenance. They spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch together, watching television, Kuroko drifting in and out of sleep.

* * *

 

“One of us should probably take Nigou for a walk.” Kuroko yawned.

“By ‘one of us’, I assume you mean me.” Kagami replied.

“Well, yes. Obviously.”

“That dog runs around so much at practice, I’m sure he’s just as tired as you.”

“I really doubt that.” Kuroko said, giving one of those little sarcastic smiles and yawning adorably.

“Ugh, just throw a ball around the apartment. He can run around in here.”

“You just don’t want to get up.”

“No, I’m comfortable.”

Kuroko went quiet. He might have fallen asleep again. Kagami wasn’t sure. Kagami blushed. He was comfortable, but he hadn’t wanted to say it like that, since Kuroko was in his lap again. He liked cuddling Kuroko, but he _definitely_ didn’t want to say that. He kept waiting for Kuroko to move, or say something, or do anything, but Kuroko remained quiet.

“I guess that means you don’t want to get up to get his ball.” _Ah, still awake._

Kagami laughed. “Nah, I can do that.”

They hadn’t changed the channel from last night, so Kuroko threw the ball around while Kagami tried to concentrate on translating.

“ _‘Nobody’s got the flag in seventeen years.’_ ”

“Fetch.”

“That’s the best scene in this movie, you know that.”

“You’re supposed to bring it back, Nigou.”

“You missed it.”

“Nigou.”

“‘ _With a life of more with her, God rest her soul is my grandmother.’_ ”

“That made no sense at all, Kagami-kun.”

“I think I forgot a verb.”

“Nigou isn’t going to bring the ball back.”

* * *

 

“No... no, stop. S-stop.” Kagami blinked his eyes open to look at Kuroko. His eyes were screwed shut, and he was shaking again. “N-nhg, help... hel-”

“Kuroko! Kuroko, wake up!” Kagami reached over to shake the smaller boy awake, and was nearly punched in the face.

“Stop it! No!”

“Kuroko! Wake up! Kuroko!” Kuroko sat up with a scream, almost head-butting Kagami in the face. Kagami reached towards him to calm him down, but his hands were swatted away. Kuroko was trembling, and his eyes were wild.

“Kuroko, calm down. It was just a nightmare.” he reached toward him again to hold him gently by the shoulders. “Everything’s fine. You’re safe.” Kuroko woke up fully, and stared at Kagami. His hair was a mess, sticking out at absurd angles, his cheeks were tear-streaked, and his eyes were terrified. “I’m right here. You’re fine. It was just a bad dream.” Kuroko blinked, then nodded, and slumped down onto Kagami’s shoulder.

“There, there. I’ve got you.” Kagami whispered gently, rocking the sobbing boy back and forth.

Kuroko cried, burying his face in Kagami’s chest. “I’ve got you.” Kagami said.

“...I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the fluff. And in the next chapter, you know what we have? More fluff. And the chapter after that? SO MUCH GODDAMN FLUFF I'm talking like, blushing, kissing in the rain kinda fluff. But after that we can get back to PAIN haha. Will post next chapter next Monday.


	9. "But do you LIKE like him?"...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senpais are smart. You can't hide from them.

“Kuroko?”

“Yes?”

“They didn’t bring up the spell.”

“What?”

“During the game, when I used the spell Transumo showed me.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you think they didn’t bring up the spell?”

“I don’t know.” Kuroko shifted uncomfortably on Kagami’s lap.

“Liar.”

Kuroko blinked. “Rune magic is the easiest kind.” he said. “It requires the most minimal amount of soul energy. The runes also all have multiple purposes. It’s the incantations that matter. For example, the rune that’s used for reconstructing soul supplements is the same one that can be used to erase small quantities of memory.” he looked up at Kagami. “When I say small, I do mean it. The most you could get away with is seven seconds.”

Kagami gawked at him. “I’m… I… I didn’t cast that… did… did you cast that?”

Kuroko simply looked at him. “It’s a memory erasure spell, Kagami-kun. It’s completely possible you don’t even remember casting it.”

“It is?”

“Yes.”

Kagami thought about it for a moment. “But I don’t know the incantation for a memory spell.”

“Memory _erasure_ spell.”

“Whatever.”

Kuroko stiffened slightly. “Are you suggesting I did it?”

“Well you’re the only one of us who’s actually studied this shit.”

“I don’t have a soul, Kagami-kun. I can’t do rune magic. Or any magic.”

Kagami stared at Kuroko. “But seriously.” he said. “I need to know if you did.”

Kuroko looked away. “The mind and soul are supposed to be bonded together." he whispered. "Removing the soul from the body and leaving the mind isn’t so simple. It can be done, and the Anima Patronos has had plenty of experience. But,” he smiled. “I guess I’m a little stronger than they anticipated.”

“That’s creepy.” Kagami said. “You should probably have mentioned that to Transumo.”

“I get nightmares and I can do the same magic as anyone else.” Kuroko said briskly. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Kagami was uneasy. If Kuroko and his soul were still connected, then that meant he had access to that indescribable pain and horror. Or worse, it had access to him. 

“Look, just… don’t...” he wasn’t sure what to say. Kuroko grasped his meaning though.

Kuroko smiled a little. “It’s usually only when I’m asleep.” he said. “Sleeping makes you drop your guard.”

“So if you dropped your guard when you’re awake, would that do it too?”

“I don’t drop my guard when I’m awake.”

“That’s a shit answer and you know it.”

“How about I _won’t_ drop my guard when I’m awake?”

Kagami smiled, more from pressure than relief of it. “Well, that’s a little better I guess.”

The door buzzed. Kagami detangled his limbs from Kuroko’s and got up to answer it. 

“Hello?”

“Let us up!”

“Who is this?”

“Your senpais, come to fawn over their fallen comrade!”

There was the muffled noise of Koganei being smacked. Kagami sighed and buzzed them in.

“Kuroko! Apparently we’re having company. Go put pants on.”

Kuroko wriggled out of the semipermanent blanket pile to get dressed. In another minute, the entire Seirin basketball team was loitering around Kagami’s living room. 

“I see everyone is here. Again.” Kagami grumbled. 

“Well we couldn’t just leave a fallen comrade!” Koganei shouted.

“Seriously, though.” Tsuchida said. “Is he okay?”

“Falling down in the beginning of a match like that, he must be sick, right?”

“Um, yeah.” Kagami stammered. _Why aren’t they asking?_  

“And you guys didn’t come into school today.” Hyuuga pointed out.

“He’s still not feeling well, but he’s doing much better.”

The entire team seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Well, Kagami?” Koga smirked mischievously. “Found out any dirty secrets about our quiet little Kuroko?”

Kagami frowned at the implication that Kuroko was anything but the very personification of truth and honour, even though he did know perfectly well that he wasn’t.

“No. He has a lot of nightmares, but other than that, no.”

“Kagami-kun snores.” Kuroko said, appearing out of nowhere. He was fully dressed, and might have been able to convince everyone that he had not been lying around on the couch all day, if it weren’t for his terrible bed-head, which Kagami was honestly beginning to enjoy.

“How long have you been there?” Kagami asked.

“Just a few seconds.” Kuroko said, sitting down.

“I don’t snore.”

“You do, a little bit.”

Once reassured that Kuroko was pretty much fine now, and that he would be back in school the next day, they all began chatting as amiably as usual, and no one except Kagami noticed Kuroko drift off into sleep. Kagami smiled, and leaned over to gently kiss the top of his head, a habit he was beginning to form, and something he would not have done if he was paying any attention at all to the company he had over.

“Well, Kagami, that’s the second time I’ve seen you kiss Kuroko like that.” Koga grinned, and Kagami jumped a little, blushing. “Do you _like_ him?”

“What?” Kagami stared blankly at Koga. “Yeah, he’s my best friend.”

“No, I mean do you _like_ like him?”

It clicked. “What are you, twelve?”

Koga blushed. “Yeah, yeah, but seriously. Are you two a couple?”

Kagami thought about it. “Um…”

“He has a point.” Teppei said. “I mean-” Kuroko shuffled closer to Kagami. “Yes, that.”

Kagami stared at Kuroko. He was very cute asleep. “I don’t know.” Kagami said. “Maybe. I wouldn’t mind.” 

Kuroko mumbled something incoherent, and Kagami nudged him.  “Oi. It’s rude to fall asleep when you have guests.” Kagami scolded. 

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Kuroko rubbed his eyes adorably. 

“Maybe we should skip tomorrow, too.”

“No„ I’ll be fine.” Kuroko said, still leaning on Kagami’s chest. 

“Hey.”

“What?” Kuroko yawned.

“Koga-senpai wants to know if we’re a couple.” 

Kuroko sat up and stared at Koganei, who squirmed a bit under the emotionless, unblinking gaze.  “Why do you want to know?”

“Uh, I… um…” Koga stammered. “Could you stop staring at me like that?” Kuroko blinked. “I was just curious, that’s all! Geez!” 

Kuroko looked back at Kagami. “I don’t know. Probably.”

“Probably?” Kagami asked. 

“We are stuck together.” Kuroko said.

“Because basketball!” Kagami rushed to say. If Kuroko obviously didn’t want the rest of the team knowing about his soul, then Kagami would absolutely protect that secret, although perhaps his cover wasn’t the greatest. “Best in Japan, right?”

“Yes.” Kuroko said, smiling ever so slightly.

“You guys are totally a couple.” Koga muttered. 

* * *

 

“Are we though?”

“Are we what?” Kuroko asked, handing Kagami a plate to dry off. 

“A couple.” Kagami answered.

“I mean, they do have a point. We live together, and share a room, and we’ve spent the last three days… um…”

“Cuddling.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Kagami blushed.

“I suppose that we sort of are a couple, then.”

Kagami stared at Kuroko, marveling at how nonchalant he was. Then he noticed the faint, but nonetheless present, red tint of Kuroko’s ears.

“You’re blushing!”

“No, I am not.”

“You totally are!” Kagami grinned, swooping in to kiss Kuroko on the cheek.

Whatever he had expected Kuroko to do, it was not grabbing a handful of dishwater suds and rubbing them into Kagami’s hair. 

Several minutes later, there were no more suds in the sink, and a rather alarming amount covering the two boys, one of whom was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, and one of whom was just beaming at the other and shaking slightly. Both of whom thought that they might die of happiness right then and there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINISHED WRITING THE THING. I FINISHED IT. IT'S FIFTEEN FUCKING CHAPTERS. I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER FINISHED WRITING ANYTHING IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.  
> No seriously, this is big for me, and I like it. I'll be posting the rest of it twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays now.


	10. …"Like Like is fucking stupid. I love him."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear God, could it get more sickeningly fluffy?!

“Aw, shit!” Kagami cried, stepping out into the small hurricane outside their apartment. He pulled his hood up, but could still feel himself getting completely drenched. “Well, this is lovely.” he looked over at Kuroko, who was completely dry under an umbrella.

“Where the hell did you get that?”

“The closet.”

“Have you had it the whole time?”

“Yes.” Kuroko replied, beginning to walk away.

“Hey!” Kagami shouted, chasing after his boyfriend. Their relationship had changed so much over the last two months. “Kuroko! You can’t leave me to drown like this!”

“You won’t drown.”

“No, but I could catch a cold!” No reply. “And then you would definitely catch it from me!” The umbrella raised just enough for Kagami to duck under it. “Because seriously, if I knew someone with AIDS, he would probably have a better auto immune system than you.”

“I don’t have AIDS.”

“As your boyfriend, I’m very happy to hear that.” Kuroko’s ears reddened. Kagami grinned. What he had learned over the last couple of weeks was that while you could say nearly anything that would embarrass or shock anybody, and not get any reaction from Kuroko, if you showed genuine affection for him, his ears would turn a little pink. He’d also learned that he was the only one who could do it, at least that he’d seen so far. And if he was entirely honest, he would admit he enjoyed embarrassing Kuroko a little. He thought that Kuroko’s ears were adorable when pink, and sometimes he wondered if telling Kuroko that would make them so.

Lost in these thoughts, he hit his head on the umbrella.

“Maybe you should hold it.” Kuroko suggested.

“Yeah, okay.” Kagami took the handle, definitely not noticing when Kuroko’s fingers brushed against his. ...Okay, he did notice. But he didn’t get as flustered as he once might have. He was thrilled to be Kuroko’s boyfriend. Having that sort of “officialness” made him happy. He thought Kuroko was adorable, and amazing, and he fit perfectly into his arms, and his life. He draped an arm around Kuroko’s shoulders, almost as if to confirm this.

* * *

 

Kuroko woke Kagami up once again. Kagami quickly identified the nightmare as the second one, and sat Kuroko up, still asleep, still babbling apologies, and started shaking him from behind. 

“Kuroko! Wake up, it’s fine! Everything’s fine! Wake up!”

Kuroko stopped squirming, and let out a small broken cry; the kind that broke Kagami’s heart instantaneously.

“I’ve got you, I promise, everything is okay. I love you.”

They both froze at that, though Kagami recovered first, going right back to comforting Kuroko.

“I do. I love you. You’re safe, and I love you.”

Kuroko turned around to stare at Kagami in shock. “Wh-what?” he blinked, tears falling quickly, as if realising they were unnecessary. 

“I love you.” Kagami repeated. Kuroko stared at him, and Kagami wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling. Disbelief, surprise, something like that. Kuroko looked away, shaking his head. 

Then it struck Kagami.  Who had been the last person to say that to Kuroko? How long ago had it been? Had they even _meant_ it?

Kagami leaned over and kissed Kuroko on the cheek, answering his own questions, speaking softly into Kuroko’s ear, still kissing him. “I don’t know. You’re the brains of this operation. But I do know this. I’m so glad you’re my shadow. I love the idea of being with you for the rest of my life. We’re pretty much married, aren’t we?”

Kuroko nodded.

“I love waking up with you in my arms, I love your stupid dorky bedhead, and even the way you never want to get up in the morning because you’re too warm. I love having you by my side to keep me from doing stupid reckless things. I don’t know a lot, but I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you. I need you, too.”

Kuroko’s face was growing warm under his kisses, but for some reason, Kagami didn’t feel like a blush was enough. He babbled out the words he felt Kuroko needed.

“I promise, I swear, I will never hurt you, I will never do anything to you that you don’t want me to, that I will wait for you, and cherish you with everything I’ve got, when you’re ready.”

Kuroko was shaking now.

“I am just as much yours as you are mine. I love you.” Kuroko flung himself into Kagami’s arms, face wet with tears and kissed him firmly on the mouth. 

They had been “officially” dating for three weeks, and Kagami knew Kuroko was reluctant to do much of anything physical. Which meant that they had never kissed before. It was now that Kagami learned that Kuroko was an absolutely _fantastic_ kisser. Kagami gasped at the sheer force that Kuroko had rammed into his mouth with, and, taking advantage of the opening, Kuroko dipped his tongue in.

What Kagami had intended to be comfort after a bad dream had somehow turned into a declaration of love, which could be interpreted as a proposal, and hot make out session. Well, he wasn’t complaining. 

“Holy shit.” he said when Kuroko paused for a second. “Holy fucking shit.”

“What?” Kuroko said. His eyes were still bright, and his lips a bit swollen.

“You are a great kisser.” Kagami answered.

Kuroko was silent for a minute, looking at Kagami. “Shut up.” he said. And he did turn bright red. And Kagami loved it. He loved it when Kuroko couldn’t seem to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up. He loved seeing laughter in his eyes. God, he just really fucking loved Kuroko. He pulled him in tight for another kiss. Kuroko wrapped his arms around Kagami’s neck, and Kagami wasn’t entirely sure where he should put his hands. Not on his waist, or his hips, that seemed much to sensual. He settled for just wrapping his arms around Kuroko’s waist and pulling him into a hug. Kagami was very aware that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Well, that was the plan. What actually happened was he threw off his own balance and tipped them both sideways. 

“Sorry!” he said, blushing. Kuroko grinned.

“It’s okay.” he said, curling up into Kagami’s chest. 

“It’s late, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“I really could not mind that less right now.” Kagami stated. He could feel Kuroko give a brief, brisk laugh, which was really nothing more than his stomach twitching, and air blowing out of his nose a little harder than normal.

“But still, we maybe should not be making out at four in the morning on a school night.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe.” 

Kagami beamed at Kuroko. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

* * *

Kuroko nuzzled deeper into Kagami’s collar. Kagami loved him. He knew Kagami loved him, in all honesty. It was pretty obvious, and had been for a long time. He was safe with Kagami. He trusted him. There was a difference between Kagami’s recklessness on the basketball courts and his personality in real life. Real life Kagami was still loud and passionate, but there was a difference in his judgement. Kagami’s ability to judge relationships was terrible, and he had an awful case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. Kuroko knew this, but there was something about Kagami, a combination of awkwardness and earnestness that endeared him to Kuroko.

Kuroko truly couldn’t recall ever trusting and loving someone as much as Kagami. Bold, rash Kagami, who was a moron, but at the same time, absolutely brilliant. Kuroko had no idea what made Kagami able to say exactly what he needed to hear. Maybe it was just one of the things he was good at. Jumping, cooking, shouting, and comforting his boyfriend.

“I love you.” Kuroko whispered gently.

* * *

Kuroko’s ears were a brilliant shade of red, and a good portion of his face, as well, buried in Kagami’s chest to conceal a smile.

“Oh!” Kagami said, realising suddenly.

Kuroko looked up. “What?”

Kagami grinned. “Nothing, I just, I mean, I just realised you don’t blush because I like you.” he leaned in closer to Kuroko’s confused face. “You blush because you like me back!”

Kuroko blushed deeper. “I do not!” he denied vehemently.

“You totally do!” Kagami beamed at Kuroko. “That’s so cute!” he laughed.

“Go to sleep, Kagami-kun.” Kuroko grumbled. Kagami laughed. “Yeah, sure.” he kissed the top of Kuroko’s head. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

* * *

 

Kagami was so thrilled, and so unbearably happy he didn’t manage to fall asleep at all. The next day at school, all his thrilled energy had abandoned him, leaving the poor boy to face the horror of school with no shield whatsoever.

“Uuughh.” he moaned, as he and Kuroko walked to school.

“Did you sleep at all after I woke you up?” Kuroko asked.

“No. Too...” he trailed off, not finding the right word.

“Too what?” Kuroko looked up, the hint of a smile poking out from behind his eyes.

“...Excited.” Kagami beamed at Kuroko.

“About what?” Kuroko asked.

“Spending the rest of our lives loving each other?” Kagami suggested, flaming scarlet.

“That was really cheesy.” Kuroko said. A light flush on his own face. “But it is exciting.”

“Are you excited?”

“Yes.” Kuroko said, in a tone that, for him at least, was positively gleeful.

Kagami beamed at Kuroko, and reached down to take his hand. Maybe he wasn’t that tired after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might actually be one of the longest chapters I've written for this fic. Wonderful. The next chapter will have a lot more of Transumo, and the chapters after that have another OC that I made out of necessity for the plot. That'll be up on Thursday.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Motherfucking Plot Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do actually care about my OC, I'm sorry.

“What are we making for dinner?”

“Gaah!” Kagami jumped when Kuroko appeared from nowhere. “Don’t do that!”

“What are we making for dinner, Kagami-kun?”

Kagami sighed. “Something with chicken. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Oh.” said Kuroko. “Okay. How can I help?”

“Make salad.”

“Okay.”

Kagami smiled. This would be the ninth time Transumo visited to check that everything was fine, and Kuroko was still nervous, despite everything having gone perfectly each time before. 

“Everything’s going to be fine, you know that, right?”

“Where are the strawberries?”

“Next to the mushrooms. Actually, can you get those for me?”

“Yeah.” Kuroko passed Kagami the mushrooms. 

“Thanks.” Kagami said. “How does sautéed chicken with mushrooms and garlic sound?”

“Good.” “Okay, then, I’ll make that.” 

“Have we forgotten anything?”

“No.”

“But are-”

“Yes I’m sure.”

The door buzzed.

“She’s _early_.” Kuroko hissed. He practically ran to answer the buzzer. “Hello?”

“Hi, it’s me!”  “Okay.” Kuroko pressed the button to let her up. He turned to Kagami. “She’s _early_.”

“Maybe she’ll help make dinner.” Kagami said, secretly amused that he was the calm one for once. “Weren’t you making salad?”

“Oh, yeah.” Kuroko went back to anxiously chopping strawberries. A minute later, there was a knock at the door. Kuroko leapt up again to get it.

“Hi, Kuroko.” Transumo smiled. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well.”

Kagami, smiled at Transumo. “We’re still making dinner, wanna help?”

“Sure, I’m sorry I’m so early.”

“No, that’s okay. You can help me make potatoes.”

“Sure!” she said.

They all fell to work silently, Kuroko being too nervous to say anything, Kagami not knowing what to say, and Transumo not having anything to say. It wasn’t until several minutes later that Transumo broke the silence a little.

“He’s a good kid.” Transumo said quietly.

“I know.” Kagami answered surprised. Kuroko was still chopping almonds, with an almost exaggerated amount of precision. 

“It’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not.”

“And I know he hates it.” her voice was filled with sorrow. “I can tell he misses what he could have had.” she tucked her hair behind her ear. “He never talks about his parents, or his brother, but he prefers to be called by his family name.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Kagami said.

“He deserved more than nothing.” she looked up at Kagami. “You’ve been really good for him, and I don’t think I could have found anyone better.”

“Thank you.” Kagami said, genuinely touched.

“I don’t think I really need to do any more check ups. Or at least not weekly.” she said. “But I want to. I’m going to miss him.”

“You can come over whenever, Nefastus-san.” Kagami said.

Transumo shook her head. “No.” she sighed. “It’d be better for Kuroko to be reminded as little as possible of The Shadow Realm, I think.”

“He’s not going to forget it.” Kagami argued.

“Of course not. But he needs to keep moving forward, with you.” she brushed away an errant tear. “Well! I’m done the potatoes.” she smiled brightly.

“Oh, great. Thanks.” Kagami said awkwardly. 

* * *

 

“That was a delicious salad.” Transumo said. It was true, the salad had been awesome. Kuroko noded in reply. He had relaxed somewhat. Transumo sat forward in her seat. “Kuroko?”

“Yes?” he said.

“I think I’m only going to do one more evaluation. You two are doing beautifully together, and it seems to be going well.” Kuroko was surprised.

“You... rea...” he frowned, and pushed a mushroom around his plate.

“I know, it’s a little short notice, and while doing just the minimum of evaluations is unorthodox, I think it will be fine.” Transumo smiled at Kuroko. “I think we should do a quick check on the soul and then I’ll be going.”

Kuroko had trouble putting his finger on just what was wrong with the evaluations ending, but for some reason, something about it made him feel uneasy. He thought about it as Kagami handed Transumo the canister with his soul inside. Transumo twisted the glass piece around, and tucked her hair behind her ear. _Why doesn’t she just tie it back?_ Kuroko thought for the millionth time. He’d been watching her hair slip from behind her ear for his whole life, it seemed. _I may never see her do that again._ The thought shocked him into realisation. He _had_ been watching Transumo tuck her hair away for his whole life, because she had been trying her best to take care of him since the day he was born. He’d never thought she had done the greatest job, but she had done her best. She was the closest thing he had known to a mother.

This knowledge came flooding in in the same second that Transumo opened the canister’s viewer with a click, and the two Umbrians gasped at the same second.

Transumo’s realisation was probably a lot more dramatic than Kuroko’s was.

She had watched that tiny, unnaturally quiet baby grow into a somewhat less tiny, unnaturally quiet man. She loved Kuroko more than any of her other cases, possibly because she knew that her other charges were safe, in families, or with friends who loved them, or who they loved back. Kuroko had never been safe, and he had never had a family. Kuroko’s case broke her heart. She had negotiated, schemed, cheated, volunteered, and crusaded for that boy, and never had been able to choose a thing.

She’d even once offered to take Kuroko into her own home and raise him herself, just so he could have a life that was a little better than living on the streets, hiding in libraries at night and being at the mercy of the criminals of Tokyo. She’d been shot down almost immediately, the Anima Patronos decreeing that Kuroko was not allowed to remain in Umbra.

She had loved to hear anything of Kuroko making friends. But it seemed that every time he did, after a time, he would stop speaking of them completely. He’d had a friend when he was very young, another little boy living on the streets; Shigehiro. But after about two years, any time Transumo mentioned him, Kuroko tensed up immediately. Transumo had guessed that the boy had died. And Kuroko had made friends in middle school very quickly, it seemed, when he joined the basketball team, but as his middle school years passed, he talked about his friends less and less, until it seemed he counted none of them as friends at all.

And then his recent high school year. Transumo had never seen Kuroko so happy, or so determined to become more so. He started truly pushing for Kagami to become the owner of his soul.

His soul... Transumo stared at in disbelief. It was still cracked and bruised, battered past safe use. But a steely light, blue and clear shone in her face. It was a soul that had been loved, that was determined to love back. What she felt gaping at the thing was that it was... moving on. Still changing. Growing stronger. It was a soul on the mend.

* * *

 

Kuroko stared at Transumo. “Transumo?”

“Nefastus-san?”

Transumo’s face was lit by a blue light, it was reflected in her eyes as she looked up at Kuroko, and he saw it. For the first time, he really saw what he was missing out on. Intuition, conscience, expression, magic and strength. Things he had only vaguely understood, but never completely grasped. Not when they were applied to himself, at least.

“What is it?” he asked. Not sure if he was asking the nature of the soul, or what was wrong with Transumo. As it turned out, it really didn’t matter.

“It’s healing.” she said, stunned. “Professionally, I’d have to say it’s at about a level four danger.”

Kuroko felt somewhat like his brain had been shot, he was so surprised. He’d studied these things. He knew how all danger levels were to be dealt with, more than most did, because he’d experienced the dealings even above traditional levels. And so he and Transumo both knew that any soul under a level five danger, could be healed completely...

And returned to its proper place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I should mention that I literally just Googled what you can make with chicken and mushrooms and that was the first simple thing that came up.
> 
> Personally I'm really proud of this piece because I didn't want to go on about my OC, but I did, and somehow still made it about the main character, and I am super pleased with that, omg.
> 
> (I like posting twice a week too)


	12. Goddamn Stressful Situations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're on a different plane of existence today.

Kagami had not studied Soul Laws Properties and Nature at all, and so had to have it explained to him rather quickly as Transumo began to make arrangements. He didn’t grasp any of it, and all too soon, Transumo had swept out the door, with the promise that she would be back tomorrow.

“I don’t understand.” he said, canister clutched in his hand. “What happened?”

Kuroko was sitting on the couch, catatonic with shock, eyes wide in something like terror. Kagami looked down at the canister, checking the soul inside. It didn’t lash out and attack him, as it had the first (and last) time he had looked at it. It shied away slightly, and then, he could almost feel it recognise him. What happened next felt distressingly similar to when Kuroko hugged him after a nightmare. A frantic, broken fear seeking shelter. He held the canister close to his chest and sat next to Kuroko.

“Kuroko?”

“Uh... yes?” Kuroko blinked unsurely.

“What just happened?”

“I... I don’t know, I... Oh my god!”

“That’s not helpful!” Kagami complained. “Transumo said that it was a ‘level four’. What does that mean?”

“On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most dangerous thing the universe has ever witnessed, it’s a four.”

“Yeah, I got that. What does that mean for you?”

“Anything under a five can be healed completely and returned to its proper place.”

Kagami stared at Kuroko.

“What? Like, you?” Kuroko nodded. “Holy shit!” Kuroko nodded again. “Holy shit!” Kagami got up to pace.

* * *

 

Their days went like that for a while. Transumo would come by every day to examine the soul, and they were temporarily pulled out of school to visit Umbra.

When Transumo told the boys they would be going to Umbra, Kuroko nodded, because he had known they would, but he also grimaced. He barely remembered the Shadow Realm, as he hadn’t been there since he was seven, but he remembered how intensely dark it was. How the people were polite, but cold and uncaring. How they were driven, and determined. How their intentions were correct, and usually so were their methods, but that their hearts were never in their work. Or maybe they just didn’t have hearts. This wasn't true of everyone of course, but the majority of the population was made up of people who's souls had been removed. Transumo was one of the the only people he’d met from there who seemed to enjoy life. He wasn’t looking forward to going back, even for a short time.

“Because you have ownership of the soul in question,” Transumo said to Kagami, “but mostly because we were the ones to give it to you, we can’t remove it from your possession. You’ll only be in Umbra for a week or two.” she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“That’s not as long as I thought it would take.” Kuroko said.

“No, it’s amazing how quickly this may go. We’re going to take the soul to Sarcio, who’s extraordinary with this sort of thing. The Anima Patronos employs them, and for good reason. An all clear from Sarcio, and we’re set. Should only take them a week to heal it.”

Kuroko felt like his head was spinning. He’d heard of Sarcio, vaguely. He only knew them by reputation, and they had quite a good one. When Kuroko tried to think of the subject, it felt like he was running face first into a brick wall. There was no way to approach the subject. He had no frame of reference. His soul had been taken from him literally the day he was born. The truth was, as far as his soul was concerned, he had little to no ideas or expectations. All he had to go on was nightmares, and the impression he had when he’d just barely seen it reflected in Transumo’s eyes. Not even enough of an impression to know if it was worth it. Worth having it. He was happy, with Kagami, and Nigou and everyone else on the basketball team. He was happy. But... But he knew something was missing.

“Kuroko, are you okay?”

Kuroko looked up at Kagami. He shrugged, and made a noncommittal humming noise.

* * *

 

Kagami’s first impression of the Shadow Realm was that it was aptly named. He could barely see a thing, and wondered for the first time if Kuroko’s large eyes were inherited or if they’d grown that way to adapt to the darkness.

“It looks like a Tim Burton film down here.” Kagami said.

“It’s not really down, more like to the left.” Kuroko corrected.

“That makes no sense.”

“Neither does down.”

“Boys.” Transumo scolded. They fell silent, and that was Kagami’s second impression. It was deathly quite in Umbra. The kind of silence that has a presence, much befitting a realm with more souls in cages than in people.

“This way.” she said, leading them down a dark, enclosed path.

* * *

 

Another thing Kagami noticed about Umbra was that it seemed to all be indoors. Never did he see a patch of grass, or sky. The entire place appeared to be tunnels, damp and spacious, but swallowing any echo. It was a few minutes before they ran into any people. A street with people striding purposefully. They seemed to be human, but shelled out. Before knowing Kuroko, if you’d mentioned soulless people to Kagami, this is what he would have expected. Bloodless, bedraggled people with sunken eyes and clothes like tattered mist. It seemed to be a place of morally negligent zombies who only had their minds' desires to go on. And almost too dark to see- you knew they were there though. Not by any aura, but by a sense of empty space. Like black holes that might just suck you in. It was terrifying. He reached for Kuroko, and clung to his arm.

Kuroko looked up at him. “Most of them are soulless. If you want to speak to them, you’re better off doing it in English. Most of them only speak English, Latin or Italian.”

“Italian?”

“ _Si_.” Kuroko said, almost amused, but more distracted.

“It’s just in here.” Transumo said, gesturing to one of the many shops tucked into the wall of the tunnel. It looked like all the others from a distance; blue gray shingles falling apart, desolate and depressing. But as Kagami drew closer to the house, he noticed the small, yellow flowers in the windowsill, and the many runes carved into the door, framing a sign in Latin. Transumo pushed open the door.

Kagami hadn’t realised how cold it was outside until he stepped into the warmth of Sarcio’s clinic. ‘Clinic’, though, was entirely the wrong word. The walls were brightly patterned in orange and purple, with dark brown furniture all around. There was a fire blazing happily in the hearth, and to be honest, it looked more like a hobbit-hole than a medical institution. A bell had rung chipperly when they opened the door, and an Italian-looking person stepped in from a back room.

“ _Ciao_!” they said, brushing back a mess of dark curls. They spread their arms wide. “ _Mia casa è il tue casa!_ ”

“ _Grazie, signori._ ” Kuroko said.

“ _Chiamami Sarcio._ ”

“ _Buonsera, Sarcio_.” Transumo chimed in.

“ _Si, buonasera!_ ”

Kagami felt thoroughly left out of the loop, not speaking Italian.

“ _This is Taiga Kagami._ ” Transumo said in English.

“ _Ah, hello, Taiga!_ ”

Kagami smiled at Sarcio. “ _Hello._ ”

“ _It’s nice to meet you._ ” they smiled. “ _If I could see the soul, please?_ ”

“ _Oh, sure._ ” Kagami fumbled with the chain and wound up just giving the whole thing to them, ring and all.

“ _Thank you._ ” Sarcio said. “ _Sono giapponese?_ ” they asked Transumo.

“ _Si_.” Sarcio turned back to Kuroko. _“Questo modo._ ” they said, gesturing to the back room. “ _Make yourselves comfortable._ ”

Kagami watched nervously as Kuroko was lead into the back room. He turned to Transumo. “What are they doing?”

“Sarcio will do an evaluation of the soul, to see if they can heal it, then a physical of Kuroko to make sure he can handle it.” Transumo answered, sitting on one of the chairs.

“But what if he can’t?” Kagami asked, also sitting.

“Then they won’t do anything with it. It will be given back to you, and the two of you can go on as usual.”

Kagami nodded, still worried.

“He’s been through a lot.” she frowned. “But since Kuroko’s mind and soul are separate, neither function the way they normally would. Traumatic experiences don’t influence his mind the way that they would a normal person, he can bounce back from defeat surprisingly well. However, his soul still takes and absorbs the trauma.

“It’s because his mind and soul aren’t directly connected that emotions are more difficult for him to access and express.”

“What do you mean?” Kagami asked. “I mean, Kuroko’s a bit... blank, usually, but I see him express emotion plenty.” Kuroko’s nightmares sprang to mind. His small smiles, earnest kisses, and blazing determination on the court.

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I didn’t mean that Kuroko never shows or feels emotion. What I meant was that it’s difficult for him to recognise and translate those emotions to other people. Most people who’s soul has been taken, or restricted find something to use as a filter, or an amplifier, to experience and express emotion through.”

“Kuroko’s is basketball.” Kagami smiled.

“I’d agree with you there, yes.” Transumo laughed. “Without a soul, emotions are much more muted, and sporadic. However, it’s not to say the body, mind, and soul aren’t connected at all. As twisted as they are, or were, they belong together and can never be completely separated. That’s why Kuroko is more than a robot, and why his soul can become either worse or better. The human mind generally isn’t as resilient as Kuroko’s has been. And a soul isn’t either. If they weren’t separate, neither could heal the way they have.” Transumo looked Kagami right in the eye. “And without you, I seriously doubt his soul would have ever had a chance.” she nodded. “But you know what, Kagami?”

“What?” Kagami replied, worried. 

“I think he’s gonna be brilliant.” she grinned at him, a piece of hair falling in her eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guess what? If I post chapter 13 on Wednesday, I can get them all up before I go on vacation. That would be great. So you guys are going to get a new chapter like, every other day now, how incredible is that?


	13. Fix-It Sarcio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TALKING

“ _Alright, hop up, you._ ” Sarcio said in Italian, smiling at Kuroko as he climbed up on the wooden examination table. “I’ll have a look at this, and then a look at you, eh?” Kuroko nodded. “ _You know, it’s been ages since I last saw you, you had to have been what, four? You’ve certainly grown a lot, haven’t you?_ ”

“ _Not a lot_.”

Sarcio laughed. “ _No, maybe not so much._ ” They removed the canister from Kagami’s necklace and inserted it into a special viewer. “ _Oh, yes, I can mend that quite quickly, I think._ ” they turned a side knob. “ _Might need some more kath ore._ ”

Kuroko’s hands were shaking. Sarcio looked up. They smiled.

“ _Are you alright, dear?_ ”

“ _I’m kind of scared._ ”

Sarcio tilted their head. They looked down at the viewer. “ _Want to take a look at it?_ ” Not really waiting for an answer, they clipped a second eyepiece onto the viewer and beckoned Kuroko over. Kuroko peered into the eyepiece. Wild electricity seemed to stab him straight through, poking at his consciousness, viewing his worst nightmares. All he saw was a bright, ruthless blue.

“ _It’s a good, healthy colour, see. Matches your hair._ ” Kuroko blinked. He hadn’t noticed that. “ _And it’s not mean, per say, just scared. Still very distrustful. See here,_ ” they said, moving the viewer to a different part of the soul. “ _It’s a little battered, isn’t it?_ ”

_“It’s like... a bruise.”_

_“Exactly! It’s bruised in a few places, but not as many as I expected. I’d rank it about a three. A two in good light maybe.”_

Kuroko looked up sharply. _“Transumo said it was a four!”_

Sarcio looked up to meet Kuroko’s eye. They smiled. “ _Well, I don’t doubt Transumo knows what she’s doing, but a closer examination sometimes shows more precise results than by just eyeballing things. Speaking of which, back up on the table._ ” Kuroko pulled himself up obediently. “ _Say_ ‘AH’.”

“AH.”

“ _Bueno._ ” Sarcio hummed thoughtfully, staring into Kuroko’s mouth and eyes. “ _You’ve had a rough time of it, eh, kid?”_

Kuroko flinched. _“Yeah.”_

_“But you seem to be doing alright. Do you agree?”_

Kuroko hesitated. “I...” “Do you feel safe at home?”

_“Yes.”_

_“What are you scared of?”_

Kuroko stared at them and thought hard. ‘Nightmares’ was the first thing to come to mind. The things he had nightmares about. Memories seemed to prickle over his skin, hot and stinging, unwanted and painful- then an even clearer vision- not of a memory, but of blood dripping down his hands, of panicked screaming, and laughter. Of looking into his victim’s face, and seeing red eyes filled with panic, dark hair falling into them, and forked eyebrows raised in fear.

“ _Kuroko?_ ” Sarcio said calmly. “ _What are you scared of_?”

“ _I’m scared of hurting Kagami-kun._ ”

Sarcio smiled. “ _Well, I can assure you, that you won’t. I can see you love him._ ” Kuroko felt his ears warming. “ _And I can see he loves you too. Your mind is strong enough to know when to guide your heart, and when to be guided by it. I can state that as a medical fact. But it doesn’t do much good if you don’t believe me. Do you?_ ”

Kuroko took a deep breath, and nodded.

“ _Then I believe I can clear you._ ” Sarcio beamed.

* * *

 

They remained in Umbra for about a week, as Sarcio mended Kuroko’s soul. Kagami’s chest felt bare without the small vial, and neither of the boys slept much. About six days after they arrived, Transumo informed Kagami that Sarcio wished to speak with him alone. Kagami was reluctant to leave Kuroko by himself, but he wanted to know how the healing was going.

“ _Hello, Taiga!_ ” Sarcio replied in English.

“ _Hello_.” Kagami responded. “ _You wanted to talk to me_?”

“ _Yes, the healing’s going excellently, but it needs a little push._ ” Sarcio said. They handed the small, ever so familiar canister to Kagami. “ _I’m going to tell you something important, just listen_.”

“Uh, sure.” Kagami said, confused. He could feel the slight buzz, the pulse of Kuroko’s soul. A bit quick, but steady and reassuring.

“ _It’s said that soulmates can heal one another’s soul just by being with each other._ ” 

 _“Seriously?_ ” Kagami asked.

“ _Seriously.”_ they answered. “ _But, I don’t know for sure. My theory is that souls want to be healthy and stable. That provided the opportunity for healing, they will take that opportunity, the same way the body does._ ” Sarcio explained.

 _“Okay…”_ Kagami said slowly.

“ _But we all know that souls, when broken will warp and destroy the mind. Or vice versa. But if the mind is resilient enough, the soul will be controlled by it. The children we are brought do not have strong minds, which is understandable, because they are children. But the broken soul takes such a hold on them, that without interference, there is no chance of them being able to overcome it._ ” Kagami nodded. 

 _“Each case is unique._ ” Sarcio said, gesturing excitedly. “ _Kuroko’s is especially interesting. His soul was brought back in close proximity to him, close enough for him to affect it, and for it to affect him. The things happening around him, and what he felt and did in response all helped his soul to heal the way it has._ ”

Kagami smiled.

_“And I’d attribute quite a lot of this miracle to you, Taiga.”_

_“Me?”_

_“Yes. As I said before, any soul will obey a strong mind.”_

_“That’s not me.”_ Kagami shook his head.

 _“No, I’d say you’re one of the few these days more driven by his heart than his head._ ” they smirked. _“But, what I was going to say was that when you took possession of Kuroko’s restrained soul, as his soulmate, you had one of the only two influences on it. Kuroko of course had the other. Your opinions and feelings towards Kuroko shaped how his soul healed.”_

 _“_ _You really think I’m his soulmate_?” Kagami asked. 

_“Don’t you?”_

_“I...”_ Kagami wasn’t sure what to say. If Sarcio’s theory was right, he clearly was. And he wanted it to be true. Being with Kuroko felt so easy, and comfortable. He never wanted to be apart from him. “Soulmate.” The title didn’t feel ridiculous, or too grand for some reason. It felt as honest as Kuroko’s bluntest phrasing. Kagami smiled. “ _I guess I do_.”

Sarcio beamed at him. “ _Would you like to stay in the operating room with him_?”

Kagami’s eyes bolted up. “ _Can I_?”

 _“Sure, I don’t see why not_.” Sarcio replied “ _But, If things are going badly, I have to warn you, it won’t end well, and it won’t be pretty._ ” they smiled. _“But don’t worry, I’m very sure everything will be fine.”_

_“You’re sure?”_

_“Are you nervous about it?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Kagami,_ ” Sarcio said, narrowing their eyes. “ _Do you wish that this operation weren’t happening? Do you want to keep possession of Kuroko’s soul_?”

 _“No._ ” Kagami answered. He blinked immediately after saying it. He hadn’t thought before saying it at all. _“Actually, no. I..._ ” He considered what they’d said. He didn’t want to own Kuroko’s soul. “ _It’s a big responsibility, and I... I want to take care of him, but I worry I can’t._ ” Kagami stared at the canister in his hand. “ _I want Kuroko to be free, but I want him to be safe too. I love him._ ”

_“You want what’s best for him.”_

“Absolutely.” Kagami said, forgetting in his earnestness to speak English.

_“Assuming that’s an affirmative, I’m glad to hear it.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because it may have just given this poor little soul the last boost it needed to get back on it’s feet.”_ Sarcio was almost shaking with excitement. _“Open it!”_

Kagami stared down at the canister, and slid the visor open.

Inside was a soul. Pulsing, beating, shouting with life. It was laughing happily, it was crying in pain. It was living the full three hundred and sixty degrees of emotion and existence. Kagami could feel power and energy, a forceful whirlwind of electricity. Blue lightning sparking and shining. Every emotion one could feel, joy and sorrow, anger and love, but the emotion Kagami felt was the strongest was... _“Frustrated.”_

_“I’m sorry, what?”_

_“It’s frustrated, or annoyed.”_

_“Frustrated?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“That’s odd. Why?”_ Sarcio took the canister in their hand. _“Ah! I see. That’s why.”_ They looked up at Kagami. “ _It’s just anxious to be getting home.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have grown a hatred towards italics. Next chapter on Friday, then JOIN US AGAIN FOR THE EPIC CONCLUSION ON MONDAY


	14. "Am I on fire?"

“What did they say?” Kuroko asked, the second Kagami returned to the room they were staying in.

“It’s all ready,” Kagami obliged. “And we can schedule the operation for tomorrow, if you want.”

“It’s all happening really fast again.” Kuroko said quietly.

Kagami reached over and drew Kuroko into a hug. “It’s going to be okay.” Kuroko tightened his grip on Kagami.

“I’m just... I have so many questions, but I don’t know how to ask any of them.”

“Are you scared?” Kagami asked.

“Yes.”

“That the things in your nightmares will happen?”

“No...” Kuroko said. And he wasn’t. He knew Sarcio was right, that he was safe, and that he wasn’t going to hurt anyone, but. “I’m scared because... I know that bad things happen. And I’ve always taken that as just a fact, and it’s never bothered me... and I think it really will now, maybe.”

“It probably will.” Kagami said bluntly. Kuroko leaned back to look at him. “But that means that when good things happen, it’s going to be really great, too, right?”

Kuroko gaped at him. Then he smiled softly, and nodded.

“I love you.” Kagami breathed softly into Kuroko’s hair. “And I want you to be safe. I want you to be free.”

Kuroko breathed in those beautiful _different_ words, cherishing them more than he could say. And he didn’t, either, he just said. “That’s very cheesy, Kagami-kun.”

“Aw, shut up, like you aren’t cheesy all the time too!” Kagami grumbled, pushing Kuroko away, drawing his eyebrows close together and pouting, the way only Kagami-kun could. “I just meant that no one should own you, or control you or whatever.” Kagami blushed deeply. “That’s fucked up.”

Kuroko smiled slightly. “Yeah. It is.” Kagami looked up, then leaned towards him, and kissed him firmly. Kuroko received the kiss happily, loving the roughness of Kagami’s chapped lips combined with the gentle gesture. Kuroko laced his arms around the back of Kagami’s neck, savouring the kiss. It lasted a very long time, and was pretty near perfect.

* * *

 

In the next morning, (although it was so dark you could scarcely call it morning,) Kuroko and Kagami were sent to Sarcio’s clinic. Kuroko was poked and prodded during last-minute testing, and finally strapped down to the soft wooden table. He looked very small, in Kagami’s eyes. Small and pale and thin, with his shirt off, trying to look calmer than he most likely felt. Kagami could see that he was scared, although he doubted the nurses could tell.

“Hey there.” Kagami said, staring at his half-naked boyfriend. He was strapped down at the wrists, chest, ankles, and above the knees and elbows. An IV was stuck onto his arm, and there were electrodes on his temples and chest. His bright blue hair was stuck to his forehead with nervous sweat, and there were goosebumps on his arms, despite it being fairly warm. “Lookin’ good.”

“Thanks.” Kuroko said, and it’s unlikely anyone could have missed the sarcasm just then.

“You scared?”

“I am.” Kuroko swallowed hard. His bright blue eyes pierced into Kagami’s, wide and frightened. Kagami hadn’t expected Kuroko to be so honest. He felt something brush against his waist, and looked down to see Kuroko’s hand stretching towards him. He took his soulmate’s cold fingers in his.

“You don’t have to worry. It’s gonna be fine.”

Kuroko was silent for a moment, and then whispered softly “Are you sure, Kagami-kun?”

Kagami smiled gently. “I’m sure, Kuroko.” he kissed him tenderly on the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Machines beeped and buzzed as Sarcio came over with a syringe. “ _Kuroko, iniziamo ora, bene_?”

Kuroko’s hand tightened around Kagami’s fingers. “ _Bene.”_

_“Vi darò un anestetico ora.”_

_“Bene.”_

Kuroko gripped harder to Kagami’s hand as Sarcio gently wedged the needle into his forearm. Kagami watched Kuroko’s eyelids droop as Sarcio counted down from ten, injecting him with an anesthetic. They hadn’t even reached five before Kuroko seemed to be completely asleep. His grip completely loosened around Kagami’s hand, but Kagami held on to him in any case.

 _“Bueno._ ” Sarcio said, laying aside the syringe. They checked Kuroko’s pulse briefly. _“Andiamo, persone! Alison, il tubi, Martin, il fenestram imperium, per favore.”_

 _“Si, signori!”_ One of the nurses clicked a wooden board in place over Kuroko’s chest, forcing Kagami to step away slightly, and move closer to Kuroko’s hip. He kept holding his hand, however. The machine was longer than it really needed to be, making Kuroko look very small indeed. All sorts of runes were carved into it’s surface, and when the nurse had hefted it up to lift over Kuroko, Kagami had seen what looked like veins stretching to the centre.

Another nurse was then at Kagami’s side, hooking the electrodes on Kuroko’s chest and temples to the top of the board. Sarcio appeared on the side of the operating table opposite Kagami, and clicked the canister holding Kuroko’s soul into a hollow in the middle. She twisted it around halfway, opening it. A brilliant blue light illuminated Kuroko’s chest and features. The runes on the table began glowing.

Kagami watched the light dip around Kuroko’s features as he breathed gently, the nurses working around him, and he moved for them as much as he could without letting go of Kuroko’s hand. He wasn’t sure why it was so important, Kuroko was asleep, after all. He wouldn’t notice if Kagami let go. The nurses didn’t speak much, and what they did say was in either Italian or Latin. Kagami understood pretty much nothing.

Sarcio stood over the small capsule, radiating light into the electrodes. “ _È non va._ ” They said, brow furrowed.

 _“Is something wrong?”_ Kagami asked.

 _“No..._ ” they said slowly. They clucked their tongue. “ _Fastidioso_.” They moved to a table, gripping a ballpoint pen, and carefully etching five runes onto their palm. They held their hand over the glowing board and began to chant. “ _Vita, mortem, in aeternum. Anima in puer. Superum, Simulacrum, Infernus, Umbra, Purgatorio. Ligaveris in aeternum. Ductus, vita, anima et corpus.”_

The next thing Kagami knew was the petrifying sound of Kuroko shrieking. He watched as electricity ran down the entire length of Kuroko’s small frame, visible over every inch of him, lighting the inside of his mouth as it crackled brightly against his teeth. His back arched as he was held back by the restraints. His screams echoed around the room as the nurses ran about, shouting. Those screams pierced into Kagami’s heart, reverberating in his head and burning into his memory like the scent of burning flesh in his nose. Kagami’s fingers seemed to break under Kuroko’s desperate grip.

“KUROKO!” Kagami screamed in horror.

And just like that it stopped. Kuroko sucked in air, eyes opened wide.  For just a second, Kagami caught a glimpse of something in them. Something bright, radiant and beautiful, an energy, a magic, brilliant extraordinary power- but then…

It was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's give a round of half-assed applause to google translate!
> 
> Next one will be out on Sunday.


	15. Kagami-kun is Better Than Basketball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is fine.

“Am I on fire?” Kuroko asked, with an absentminded, lilting tone to his voice.

“No, why are you hot?” Kagami asked smirking as he filmed his boyfriend.

“No.” Kuroko said cheerfully.

“How do you feel?” Kagami asked, stifling laughter.

“I feel... everthing.” Kuroko shook his head, eyes wide and staring into space.

“Everything?”

“Eeeevvrthinngg!” Kuroko slurred, waving his hands awkwardly.

“Wow.” Kagami said, still trying not to laugh. As it turned out, Kuroko wasn’t handling the anesthesia as well as Kagami would have expected. He assumed the soul had something to do with it. Kuroko had been fine for the first minute or two after waking up, acting completely normal, having locked whatever newfound power he had inside and completely barricading it off. But after that, he hadn’t been too steady on his feet and had passed out cold again. Now they being driven home, and he was more relaxed, Kuroko’s reaction was absolutely priceless.

“Everthing’s a whole lot.” Kuroko pouted. He stared at the roof of the car. “I dunno what to do with all this!” he waved his arm, nearly hitting Kagami’s phone out of his hand.

“You’ll be fine in a few hours, Kuroko.” Transumo said from the front seat. “You just go to bed when you get home.”

“I can’t go to bed!” Kuroko said. “I have all the energy for like, everthing ever!”

“So you feel good?” Kagami asked, hoping to prompt more absurdity out of the boy. Kuroko turned to him with wide, somewhat frantic eyes.

“I feel everything!” he shouted. He continued to stare at Kagami, not blinking for way too long. “You’re handsome.” he said finally.

“Am I?” Kagami could barely breathe from holding his laughter in.

“Yup.” Kuroko nodded slowly.

“Well, thanks.”

Kuroko looked around the car.“Where’s Nigou?”

“Nigou’s at home.” Kagami explained.

Kuroko’s jaw dropped in shock. “Where are we!?”

“We’re on our way home.”

“We should be there in a few minutes.” Transumo declared.

“Can we play basketball when we get home?”

* * *

 

As soon as they got home Kuroko declared that he would like to practice basketball with Kagami.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“Basketball.”

“Okay...”

Kuroko was slow, and kept dropping the ball, but they played together for four and a half hours before Kagami had to call it quits, and in that time the anesthesia more or less wore off. Kuroko kept going for over an hour after that. Kagami watched, noticing that his skills didn’t really improve. He did make some baskets, but he missed nearly all of them in the five and a half, or more, hours that they were there.

“ _Most people who’s soul has been taken, or restricted find something to use as a filter, or an amplifier, to experience and express emotion through.”_ Kagami remembered.

“Are you done yet?!” Kagami shouted. “It’s getting really dark!”

Kuroko looked up, gasping for air. He looked disappointed. He wiped some sweat from his forehead. “I guess so.” he said, dropping the basketball and walking over to where Kagami sat.

“So you totally don’t have any excess energy.”

“I can walk Nigou tomorrow.”

“Yeah, well try to go easy on him, champ!” Kagami laughed, ruffling his boyfriend’s hair. _He wanted to come here right away._ “How are you doing, seriously?”

Kuroko stood there quietly thinking. “It’s... interesting.” he said slowly. “Physically, I feel great. I mean, I was just running around like crazy for hours, and I’m not really that tired. A little hungry maybe.” he pointedly looked at Kagami with a small smile. “Mentally, I feel about the same. Still a little disoriented.” Kagami nodded. “I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“I... everything really!” Kuroko looked up, and began talking at a speed and intensity that Kagami hadn’t ever heard from the boy. “Reacting, and memories, and how strong emotions will affect me, and if my nightmares will get worse, and what happens if I die? I have no idea! And there’s magic too, and I feel like I should just keep everything repressed, but at the same time I’m curious, and I want to try but I’m scared too! What if-”

“Woah, calm down!” Kagami said, taking his boyfriend’s hand. It was warm and sweaty. “It’s gonna be okay, Kuroko.” he looked at Kuroko’s stressed out face. “I think... just go with what feels right. I’ll always be there to help you out, just like you’re there to help me out, right?”

Kuroko nodded.

“Okay, then.” Kagami kissed Kuroko’s hand. Kuroko tilted his head slightly, then leaned down to kiss him. It was slow, but determined, and just right.

* * *

 

In the end, not a lot changed. Whatever walls Kuroko had erected to keep himself safe when he didn’t have a soul remained after he did. He still had nightmares, and whatever power he had acquired, he never used. Occasionally, Kagami noticed things happening that were unusual, although he could never quite put his finger on what it was. And sometimes Kuroko would unexpectedly alarm Kagami with statements like “I’m probably not the antichrist.” and repeatedly saying “I could do that.” when watching X-Men movies. On the whole, however, he remained unnoticeable and presenceless- much to Kagami’s consternation.

The biggest change was in his health. He never passed out from overheating again, and the common cold became a thing that only affected him two or three time a year, like most people. His ability to not fall over gasping like a dying fish at the end of practice definitely improved.

His walls weren’t always up. They’d usually go down when he was tired; at the end of the day, or early in the morning. Those times became Kagami’s favourite times of day, because that was when he could make Kuroko laugh.

Kuroko had a fantastic laugh. Beautiful, and clear, and when it happened, it was almost always loud, ringing out to be not only heard, but felt. When Kuroko was very tired, laughter wasn’t something he bothered holding down, partly because he knew Kagami liked it, partly because it was nearly impossible to when Kagami traced his fingers ever-so-lightly over the new scar that was forming across his chest and shoulders from the surgery, and partly because he liked it himself. Laughter was a good feeling, and it wasn’t what he had expected from himself.

He’d expected to feel pain, fear, anger. To feel those things in high definition that he hadn’t fully experienced for years. But he didn’t. The first thing he felt when he opened his eyes that day was confidence- like his entire body was spurting electricity ,(which, as he found our later, it was). _Then_ he’d felt fear, and slammed the windowsill shut, hiding that power behind murky glass. Then he’d seen Kagami, and the window seemed like it would break. He knew he loved Kagami, and that that was the strongest thing he’d ever felt, but he hadn’t expected it to be so strong.

All that power and energy terrified Kuroko, emotions flooding in that he didn’t even remotely understand how to sort through. He’d played basketball for hours, trying to figure it out, but only went in circles of confusion and colour. In retrospect, he should have just asked Kagami first. Kagami’s words, his comfort, just his awkward, but earnest presence had always filled Kuroko with calm and strength. And while it had been difficult to see before, he definitely knew now that calm was very different from empty.

Kuroko was still wary of himself, but he wasn’t afraid. His nightmares slowly but surely faded away, and he knew he would be alright. After all, he had an amazing dog, and an incredible boyfriend looking after him. He had a home, and a family. He had Kagami-kun.

His soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a day late, I got the dates mixed up, but no one seems to be panicking about my little cliff-hanger anyways.
> 
> I'm really bummed this is over, I like this AU a lot, and I liked writing it.  
> You guys have all been so great! Thank you so much for all the wonderful support and feedback.


End file.
